Hidden from Sight
by Betty BOKOR
Summary: Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change. Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.
1. Chapter 1

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 1**

Some people spend their lives blind to some obvious truths, simply because they put all their trust in what can be seen and measured. Saint Exupéry once said that we can only see well with our hearts, because the essential things are invisible to the eyes. I'm more in the middle. All my life I've trusted my senses ─in my kind of job, I need to be aware of everything that's going on around me─ but I've also put heavy stock in my instincts, my hunches, my gut feelings… And I've usually been right, at least until now.

Now, I know something that it's keeping me from going back to sleep, in spite of the pain and the fatigue I'm feeling. I can't say that I didn't have a few glimpses of this truth before; I'll just say that probably I didn't want to acknowledge it.

The nurse was back a moment ago and she wasn't happy I was still awake. I promised her I'd rest, but I probably won't. You see… I've decided that I'm going to sort this out right now, no matter how long it takes or how much it hurts.

Given the nature of my job, I can't really talk about all this with anyone, but nothing can stop me from telling the whole story to you, my dear imaginary friend, now that I've found you, undoubtedly thanks to all the painkillers I got since I was shot. I'm sure you could say that I'm too medicated to sort anything out, but I feel surprisingly sharp.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Let's start from the beginning. It all started just a couple of hours ago.

I had just woken up after surgery and I was feeling pretty miserable. "_After surgery"_ is just an expression, because the nurse said I'd slept for almost twenty-four hours after the _last_ surgery. In any case, I didn't feel rested at all.

A young doctor appeared out of nowhere right away and shortly explained that he'd needed more than five hours to repair all the damage the bullet had made, but that he was very happy with the results. I couldn't decide if I should blame his insufferable smug smile on the fact that I had survived the whole ordeal or on his obvious over inflated ego.

As soon as he was done gloating, an older, more reassuring doctor took his place. He seemed to have been involved with my care since I got to the hospital and wanted to perform a few tests to check how I was doing. He didn't say it openly, but I got the impression that he was checking for symptoms of brain damage. I'm not sure if I passed the test, but, as I already said, I'm feeling pretty sharp, so brain damage isn't going to be one of my worries.

Soon after the old man left the room, the nurse let my family in. Jinx, Brandi, and Raph took turns holding my hand and smiling while whispering reassuring words about my recovery. My mother was as melodramatic as always, crying while holding a white handkerchief in her hand, and Raph was as sweet as usual when he kissed me on the forehead.

They all soon left the room, rushed by the bossy nurse, and Stan, Bobby D., Eleanor, and Marshall were allowed to get in. Stan and Bobby smiled and expressed their good wishes. Eleanor made a comment about how much the nurses caring for me would have to go through while I was there and seemed pretty satisfied when I came up with a really witty reply ─if I may say so myself. The three of them added a few more encouraging words and left me alone with my partner.

Marshall had been standing close to the door, leaning against the wall, serious and quiet. After they were all gone, he approached my bed and softly asked how I was feeling. I gave him a dismissive answer and I also called him doofus and numb nuts, just to keep the conversation light.

He didn't smile and he didn't answer back. He just got closer and squeezed my hand.

"You better not die," he said with the most serious face I've ever seen on him.

"I will try not to die, for you," I replied, without knowing exactly where such an answer had come from or why I'd blurted it out without even thinking.

He squeezed my hand again and nodded, as if reassuring himself that I wouldn't break my promise, and a few seconds later he was gone.

Since then, I've remembered where I'd heard that reply before. From his own lips, that dreadful day we spent with Horst, when I was almost certain that I was going to lose Marshall, when I learned that he's one of the strongest men I've ever met. Actually, the strongest… in body and soul.

It's true, I was shot, too, but a few minutes later there was an army of emergency personnel tending to my wounds and I was in the operating room even before my mother made it to the hospital. Marshall was shot and he spent uncountable hours bleeding from his wound, choking, asphyxiating, suffering the pain without the help of a miserable aspirin. And without one complaint, one word of desperation, one gesture of defeat.

But today… Today he looked defeated. His eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. His hands were shaking slightly.

I recognize those symptoms. That's just how I looked the day after my ordeal in that horrid basement. That's exactly how I looked after I cried for hours while Marshall was in the operating room and we weren't certain whether he'd make it or not.

I don't think I've ever seen Marshall cry. The fact that he'd been crying for me awakened odd feelings inside of me. All of a sudden, hundreds of Marshall's words, gestures, and looks took a different meaning. I can't explain why, but my heart saw something there that my eyes hadn't previously seen. And the revelation filled me with a warmth I hadn't felt before.

Before I continue, I should clearly state that I love Raph. Really. He's a great guy, hard working, honest, caring, and to top it off, so damned good looking. We also have great chemistry in bed and I've never felt disappointed by him. I wouldn't want to hurt him.

Nevertheless, right now, the dream of the white picket fence and the two kids doesn't seem attractive at all. Right now, the only thing I can think of is that I don't want to be far from Marshall. I don't want him to cry because of me. I don't want him to be mad at me. I don't want to disappoint him. I simply don't want him to suffer at all.

I think Marshall is in love with me… Has been for a long while.

I think, maybe, I'm in love with him.

I know I love him, but I need to be sure that there's something more there before I do anything about it. I have to be certain that this is me talking and not the pain meds.

I need to get out of here and figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 2**

Marshall sat at his desk and looked at the phone for the tenth time in a minute. He had to make a decision. Soon.

Today, Mary had been discharged from the hospital. He had, of course, been there, but the whole time he had felt like an intruder, with no clear place for him around her. He had given her a box of her favorite chocolates and, after hearing her acid remark about how he was trying to fatten her up, he had promptly excused himself blaming the extra work he had at the office because of her absence.

His discomfort was born out of the growing sensation that he had definitely lost her. For more than four years they had worked together, side by side. She had been there every day for him, even if only because of their job. Gradually, they had developed a strange friendship that had become the main relationship in his life. But he wanted more. He wished he could have Mary outside of the office, when they were not constantly scanning for danger, when they could leave their weapons on the side table and relax for a while.

With her on sick leave, he had realized that she did not belong to him in any way. He had visited as often as the increased load of work had allowed him, but he had felt very little of their connection without the chance to talk about work. The almost constant presence of Raph had made it worse, especially because Mary loved him, was going to marry him and have his children.

He could not take that image out of his head. He felt he had made peace with the idea of Mary and Raph together that first night at the hospital; Raph was suffering as much as he was and they had connected.

But it still hurt. It was time to move on. He had to find a way to live without having her.

He finally picked up the phone and dialed Shelley Finkle's number. There was a chance she had gone back to her ex, but he had to try. She was the only woman he had felt any interest in since he had realized he was in love with Mary.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Mary rested her head on the pillows and sighed contentedly. It was great to be home, in her own bed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yeah… It was perfect.

She had been enjoying the sensation for a few minutes when Raph walked into the room and lay down by her side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Fine," she answered in a whisper. She did not feel like talking. "Tired."

"Okay…I'll let you rest for now. I'll bring you some food later."

He lovingly squeezed her hand, got up, and left the room.

Mary kept quiet. She wanted to be alone. She was happy that he had left her on her own. For the few seconds he had been by her side, she had felt there was something wrong.

She sighed with exasperation. How could everything have changed so fast? Not much more than a week ago she had made love with Raph in that same bed and it had been perfect. Now, just his presence in her room felt out of place. She felt as if she was betraying someone. She felt as if she was betraying Marshall.

She tried to think of something else, but her mind kept insisting on going back to him. She missed Marshall. She had not seen much of him during her days in the hospital. She had woken up a couple of times, very early in the morning, and found him sitting by her side. He had explained that he had a better chance of seeing her before work, but she had felt that he had just been trying to avoid coinciding with Raph. She wondered how he had convinced the nurses to let him in so far from the visiting hours.

Marshall. She had not arrived to any conclusions about him yet. After her sudden realization about his feelings, she had been unable to figure out much else. With the meds, the visitors, and the constant disruption of the nurses checking up on her, she had decided that she needed to let the matter go until she was home.

Well, now she was home. It was time to think about it.

There was something that kept nagging at her. She had a memory… No, it was not a memory; it could not be. She had the strange sensation that Marshall had been with her right after she was shot. She now knew she had been in full cardiac arrest when she got to the hospital ─she had managed to get all her records─ so there was no way she had seen Marshall, but she could not shake off the idea that he had been right there. That he had asked her to hang around until they helped her… That he had kissed her in the forehead.

At the beginning, it had been a simple idea that crossed her mind, but, gradually, she had begun seeing the image of Marshall running by her side while she was on the stretcher, leaning over her, talking to her, kissing her. It was as if she had been watching the whole scene from above, as a spectator.

She had also started thinking that she had promised herself not to disappoint him, that she had fought as hard as she could to stay, in spite of the pain and the desire to let go, just because he had asked her to stay.

She shook her head. She was crazy. Maybe there was some brain damage after all.

So, the question was, _was __Marshall__ really in love with her as she had felt that day? _She had to examine the evidence. She was good at that.

She let her mind wander for a while and she ended up remembering the day when Marshall had discovered that she was engaged to Raph. She closed her eyes and saw his expression. He was stunned, shocked.

_"There. I said it. Are you happy?" _she had asked, afraid of looking at him, somehow already feeling as a traitor without even knowing why.

_"Are you?" _he had replied after a few seconds of hesitation, less however that the ones it had taken for her to reassure him of her happiness.

Of course she was happy… Wasn't she?

She recalled his heartfelt hug and this time she was aware of something different. That day she had felt his support, his approval. Now, she felt as if he had been hiding some deep pain, as sharp as the one she had felt when the bullet had hit her. How could she have missed it? How could she not have seen the effort it had taken for him to be happy for her? Was that the reason why he had finished her bottle of whiskey a few nights later, while he searched for an explanation to her engagement that hurt him a little bit less? She had only increased his suffering with her enlightening discourse about the trust she could put on Raph.

_"I hope you know that I love you."_ Wow… How could she have missed the relevance of that one? He had confessed his feelings, in front of everyone. He had meant it. She had been somehow unnerved when she had heard those words. She had looked at him and felt that he was trying very hard not to cry, but she had quickly stopped herself from thinking again about it.

Mary sighed. She was onto something, but every revelation about him was telling her something about her own feelings for Marshall at the same time. She needed to put together a timeline. She had to work it as a case. She had to know before she went back to work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 3**

**_A.N. I made some changes to the first two chapters so that they go better with the season finale. There's no need to read them again, but I just wanted to explain it before someone notices the differences. _**

**_Thank you to all the reviewers._**

**_Beware of Mary's language!_**

Five days after returning home, Mary was feeling much better. The pain was slowly subsiding and she was able to walk around the house. She spent as much time as she could close to the pool, alone, and her family ─for once─ seemed to respect her need for loneliness.

Everybody had noticed that something had changed. Raph had been the first, when he had realized that she felt uncomfortable with him in her bed. She had been unusually subtle about it, but he could read her pretty well and had decided to make it easier on her. He had moved to one of the empty rooms for the duration of her recovery. He wanted to avoid causing her pain by making sudden movements while he was sleeping, or so he had told Jinx and Brandi, though he was certain there was something deeper in Mary's discomfort.

Her mother and sister had also noticed a change. Mary seemed taciturn, less combative, and definitely worried about something she did not want to share with them. She had started carrying a notebook where she made strange graphics filled with initials that meant nothing to them. They were very worried that the cardiac arrest and the huge blood loss she had suffered after been shot had deprived her brain from oxygen for too long and caused some kind of damage.

Mary was not really aware of all the concern she was causing her family and, if she had, she would have thought they deserved it for all the other worries they had given her over the years.

Sitting by the pool, with her notebook on her lap, she was trying to improve her latest version of her _Marshall-loves-me_ timeline, when he approached her with a smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out a way to get rid of all the nitwits who stick their noses where they don't belong."

"I see. As good humored as always."

"Well… Let's put it this way. I'm stuck here in this house, while you're out there having all the fun. I haven't been able to put my hands on the bastard who shot me-"

"You know we caught him. He's not going anywhere."

"That hasn't diminished this heartfelt desire I have of wringing his neck."

"I understand, Mar, but you should only be thinking that you need to recover completely so that you can come back to work."

"If I'm not mistaken, when you were shot you went back to work far before being _completely recovered_ and you spent a few days under a cloud of painkillers."

"You can't compare-"

"What? You think you're tougher than me? Is that it?"

"Come on, Mar. I was shot in the shoulder; you were shot in the stomach. There's a huge difference."

She was about to contradict him, when Jinx came out of the house with a tray with drinks.

"Hi, Marshall. A glass of lemonade?" She offered with her earnest smile.

"Why, thank you," he accepted the glass with a little bow to her.

"Ahh… You two are gonna make me puke," Mary said.

"But, Mary, you should be polite with the young man. He's been so worried about you. I've never seen-"

"She doesn't know what polite means. It's not in her vocabulary," Marshall interrupted Jinx.

"At least my vocabulary is not full of useless crap as yours," Mary replied with a scornful gesture.

"In any case, thank you again for the lemonade, Mrs. Shannon. It was very refreshing," Marshall said looking at her and ignoring Mary.

"Oh, good! Would you like another glass?"

"Unfortunately, I need to go back to the office, Ma'am. I was just checking on our patient. But, thanks anyway."

Jinx smiled and then looked at Mary, almost as if asking for her permission, before addressing Marshall again, "What about you come for dinner tomorrow night? We should celebrate Mary's recovery."

Before Marshall could answer, Mary exclaimed, "I didn't know Raph's mother was back in town. Is she cooking goat again?"

"Mary, I know how to cook, too," Jinx said in an admonishing tone.

"That's news to me," Mary replied.

"I really appreciate the invitation," Marshall stopped Mary, "but I'm afraid I already had plans for tomorrow night," he added looking at Jinx.

"Oh, dear! I should have thought that a handsome and bright man like you would have a date on a Saturday night. We'll find another day."

"A date? He doesn't have a date… You have a date?" Mary asked incredulously.

"Indeed I do," Marshall replied with a broad smile. He turned to Jinx and said, "Thank you again, for the drink and the invitation. I'm sure it would have been a delicious meal. Now, I need to run." He turned to Mary. "Happy to see you're doing well, Mar. Call if you need anything."

Without giving her a chance to reply, he left the patio and walked toward his SUV.

Jinx went back into the house and Mary was left with several questions. Was her mother trying to make her jealous of Marshall's date? Did he _really_ have a date? With whom? What was Jinx going to say about him when he interrupted her?

She had to get to the bottom of all of the questions if she wanted to make the right decision at the end of her quest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 4**

**_A.N. Please, let me know what you think up until now. Feedback is immensely helpful. Thanks!_**

On Saturday morning, Raph brought Mary breakfast in bed.

"I thought we could have breakfast together today, considering that I don't have to leave for work as early as during the week…" He said with a smile as he placed the tray on the bed.

Mary eyed him suspiciously. "What did Brandi do?"

Raph was surprised by the non-sequitur. "Ah? What? No… I haven't seen Brandi today."

"So it was Jinx."

He shook his head with disappointment. "No."

"So, what's all this?" She asked, feeling impatient.

"Why can't I just want to have breakfast with you? I'm not one of the guys you meet at work; I don't always have ulterior motives."

"There it is; you're back to the job issue. Do you _really_ hate it so much?"

Raph sighed defeated. "Forget it. I'll go to work early." He stood up and started walking towards the door.

Mary felt a very little stab of guilt. "Oh, come on. Come back. Tell me what's going on."

He turned and faced her. "No. What for? I don't want to have another fight."

"_Another_ fight?" She thought for a second. "Is it because of the fight we had before I was shot that you moved to the other room?" Mary asked.

Raph sighed again and sat back by her side. "Listen, Mary. I wasn't going to talk about this yet, but if that's what you want, fine. Just drink your coffee before it gets cold."

Mary grabbed her cup and took a zip.

"The reason I moved was because I felt you were uncomfortable with me sleeping by your side."

"Noo…" Mary said with a dismissive expression that felt fake even to herself.

Raph looked at her knowingly.

"Okay… Maybe a little. With all the pain and-"

"Mary, you and I both know that this has nothing to do with the pain."

"Why? Why would you say that?"

"I feel that something's broken between us."

Mary looked at him with disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that. You know it's true."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mary, I'm not sure why you accepted to marry me, but our relationship has gone downhill since that day. I hope you didn't do it because you felt sorry for me or my mother, but some days I think that's it."

"You should know me well enough by now to know that that's not true," she said bitterly.

"Do I? Do I know you well, Mary? I'm pretty certain that Marshall and Stan know you a lot better that anyone who lives in this house."

"You've got to be kidding."

"No, I'm not kidding," he said sincerely.

"Do you really think that?"

"Yes, Mary, I do. When we were just boyfriend and girlfriend, when our relationship didn't have space for much more than making love and spending a few hours a week together, I think you were happier. Since we got engaged, I feel like I'm a weight hanging around your neck."

Mary bit her lips. "No, you're not," she said very seriously.

"In any case, it's not working for me. I don't like you trying to manage every detail of my life, I don't like the secrecy about your job, and, definitely, I don't like you working there."

"Well, that's the way it is and it's not changing."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "That's why _we_ have to change. I think this engagement was a mistake."

"Are you freaking breaking up with me?" Mary asked starting to feel angry.

"No, I'm setting you free. I'm liberating you from a commitment you shouldn't have made."

"The heck you are!"

"Mary, you have to understand. I'm a Latino man. I'd like to have a wife and start a family and I don't think you're ready for that and, _if you are_, it's not with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed one more time. "Let's put it this way. The day you got shot, when Stan called and told us, I felt this pain in my chest, this fear… ─I don't know how to explain it─ but I just kept thinking that if something happened to you, I'd be alone again. I've left everything I love behind, my family, my friends, my country… Now, even the career I enjoyed so much… So I didn't want to lose you, too. And I was sitting there, commiserating myself, when Marshall walked to me and tried to comfort me, listened to what I was feeling…"

Mary was about to make a comment, but Raph continued.

"When he left the room, I suddenly had this sensation that if you didn't make it, he-" he realized what he had implied and stopped. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

Mary encouraged him with an intense look and a gesture of her hand.

"I just realized how much you mean to him. For a second there, I saw that he's your equal, _more_ than your partner, _your soul mate_."

Mary was strangely quiet, so Raph tried to explain himself.

"I don't know if I'm using the right words in English, Mary, but I think you get the gist of it. You can't _no_t have noticed. You two not only work together; you both love what you do, you complement each other-"

"I don't really know what you're trying to do here, Raph. What? Are you looking for a replacement so that I can get over the fact that you're dumping me?"

"I'm not dumping you, Mary. If you really want to keep this engagement, we can make another try, but, at this point, I think we need to go our separate ways for a while. I can get my apartment back. They haven't even rented it yet."

"You've already figured that out?" She asked with disbelief.

"Yes, I called yesterday and I asked. I was just waiting for you to be really okay."

Mary shook her head, still shocked by what her fiancé ─or ex-fiancé by then─ was telling her.

"The last thing I'm going to say before I go to work is that you should think about what I've said about Mann. He was a broken man while you were there. You could see it written all over him. I'm sure if you have an honest talk with your boss, he'll tell you the same. There are feelings so strong that can't be hidden all the time. They inevitably come out in the best and in the worst of times."

After Raph left, Mary put her cold breakfast to the side and lay back down in bed. She was shocked. She had not seen that coming.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 5**

**A.N. Please, let me know what you think up until now. Feedback is immensely helpful.**

"I can't believe Chico is moving out. What did you do to him?" Brandi asked later in the day, as she saw Raph drive away with his boxes, which had never been completely unpacked.

"I didn't do anything to him," Mary answered impatiently.

"Well, why did he go back to his apartment? You must have had a fight."

"You know what? It's none of your damn business."

"Come one, Mary. I thought you had something good going on there."

"So did I, but apparently Raph didn't agree with us," Mary said with heavy sarcasm.

"Oh." Brandi said and bit her lips as if trying to avoid saying much more.

"Oh what? What do you know?"

"No… Nothing. What would I know?" she replied and started walking away from Mary.

She followed her and grabbed her by the arm. "Wait. Look at me, Squish. You know something."

Brandi though quickly how to get out of the mess she had started. "Ah… Well… After the shooting he was very upset. He said he felt like a cop's wife, waiting at home, not knowing if her husband would make it back."

"He said that?"

Brandi tried hard to avoid giving up the other comments Raph had made. "Sure. That was it… and it sounded logical. I mean, I know you can't talk about your job, but you're a marshal, and what do marshals do? You work at the courthouse, transport prisoners, chase fugitives, right? Isn't that what marshals do?"

For a second, Mary looked at her uncertain as to what to say. Then, she replied, "Yep, that's what all marshals do."

"So, that's just like being a cop."

"Yeah, you're right."

Brandi breathed relieved. "Hey, why don't you call Marshall and ask him if he would like to come for dinner? Peter said he'd like to go out with all of us and celebrate your recovery. I could call him and-"

"What is it with Marshall and you people? Mom already tried to get him to come, but he said he had a date."

Brandi looked very surprised. "He had a date?"

"Yeah," Mary said with a scornful sight. "Like I believe him."

"Why wouldn't you?" her sister asked. "He's good-looking and nice. He has a good job and he's funny."

"Marshall isn't funny."

"Yes, he is. He's a lot of fun to be around and he's very good at helping with the sunscreen," Brandi said as she carefully checked Mary's reaction.

"What? When has Marshall helped you with the sunscreen?"

"Oh… I don't know… One day when he was here."

"Without me?"

"I think you left before him."

"Great," Mary said and began walking towards her room, seemingly upset.

Brandi smiled satisfied. She was right. She was about to go talk with her mother about her suspicions, when Mary came back into the room.

"You still have that car that Peter lent you?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's go. I bet you ten bucks that Marshall is spending the night at home. Let's surprise him."

A few minutes later they were about to park close to Marshall's house, when he came out, obviously dressed for a night out.

"Stop here. I don't want him to see us."

Brandi parked and waited for Mary's instructions. "Do you want to follow him?"

"No. He'd notice. He's too good at that." She thought for a few seconds. "You know what? I know where he'd take a date. There's this restaurant he likes… What's the name? Come on. Let's go the other way. I know how to get there. Let's see if he takes her there."

"Do you know who she is?"

"No, numb nuts. If I knew we wouldn't be tracking him, would we?"

Brandi did not reply, but smiled inwardly. Oh, she was _so_ right. She had to tell Jinx.

Parked across the street from an elegant restaurant in downtown Albuquerque, the sisters waited for the chance of seeing Marshall. They were not disappointed. Fifteen minutes after they got there, Marshall's parked on the other side of the street. He swiftly got out of the car and opened the door for his date.

Mary was stunned. "It's Dr. Finkle! Shelley Finkle! I knew she liked him! I though she had gone back to her ex…"

"It looks like she found something better."

"I can't believe it."

"Why? They make a very nice couple. She looked quite pretty, even though we're kind of far, but she had a nice figure and-"

"Would you, please, shut up? Let's go home. I'm not feeling that well."

Brandi worried. Maybe she had gone too far and Mary was not completely well yet. She started the car and drove home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 6**

**_A.N. Thank you for the reviews. They are the main reason I feel encouraged to post another chapter._******

As soon as Marshall read the caller I.D. on his cell phone, he started worrying. He could not recall another occasion when Brandi had called him before. When she told him that Mary was sick, he immediately ended his date.

It was not as bad as it could have been. Shelley had finished her dessert and he was drinking his Irish coffee. He explained to her that Mary had gotten suddenly ill and Shelley understood. She knew of Mary's injury and she had already been asked to see her before she was allowed to go back to work. Marshall took her home and, after apologizing one more time, he drove straight to Mary's.

"What happened?" was his first question after Brandi opened the door. She had obviously been waiting for him, because he had not needed to ring the bell for her to open.

"I don't know," she said in a whisper. "First, she said she wasn't felling too well. So she went to bed and lay down for a while. I asked her if she had pain and she said she didn't. I thought she had fallen asleep and, then, like half an hour ago, she got up, ran to the bathroom, and started throwing up. Mom is with her, but she says she wants to be alone and she doesn't want us to call the doctor. I think she's crying now."

Marshall did not need anything else. He walked to her bedroom and knocked the door.

"Mar, can I come in?"

Jinx replied that it was okay for him to come in, that Mary was back in the bathroom.

Marshall went into the room and waited for Mary to come out. When he finally saw her, his fear increased. She looked pale, tired, and her eyes were very red. He was certain that she was feverish, too.

"Come on, Mar, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"The hell you are," was her welcome. She walked toward her bed. "I'm fine… and _what the heck are you doing here?_ I thought you had a date."

"Listen to me, Mar," he said, ignoring her last question. "You don't look fine to me. You could have an infection. We need to take you to see a doctor and that is _not_ negotiable. You choose, you get ready while I wait for you or we leave right now as you are."

Mary wanted to decline going with him, but she had to admit that she truly did not feel well. Maybe it was not such a bad idea to go to the hospital. Besides, Marshall's tone showed that he was not going to back down.

"Listen to him, Mary. He's right. Come here and I'll help you." Jinx looked at Marshall, "Thank you, Marshall. Just wait for her in the kitchen. She'll be ready in a minute."

He nodded and left the room. He was surprised that, in spite of all the daily quarrelling between Mary and her mother, whenever things got rough in Mary's life, Jinx was strong enough to reassume her "mother" position. That is, when she was not the one causing Mary's problems.

More than an hour later, when they finally left the emergency room, Marshall was less worried. They had checked Mary thoroughly and concluded that she only had an upset stomach, probably due to what she had ingested for lunch. She had reluctantly admitted she had not been strictly following the diet her doctor had ordered.

"Happy now?" She asked sarcastically as she sat in the car.

"Actually, yes, I'm happy, because now we know that you don't have anything really wrong and that you'll be better soon. We just need to make sure you follow that diet."

_"Make sure you follow that diet"_ she said mockingly. "I'd like to see _you_ eating what that troll put in that list."

"Dr. Bronstein?" Marshall asked surprised.

"No, the other guy, the skinny one. I don't know who he thinks he is. He-"

"It can't be that bad and, yeah, I wouldn't mind eating what's on the list if I knew it would be for my benefit."

She shook her head with a sardonic gesture.

Marshall expected her to continue her rant, but she became unusually quiet and kept silent for the rest of the trip. When they got to the house, she went straight to her bedroom while Marshall explained the results of their visit to the hospital to her mother and sister.

"Before I leave, I'd like to say good night to Mary," he said when he was done. "Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead. She's probably not sleeping yet."

Marshall walked to her room and knocked the door. "Mar? May I come in?"

He waited for an answer, but there was none. He tried again and nothing happened. He was about to leave, thinking that Mary was in the bathroom or just feigning sleep to avoid him, when he heard a soft sob. He listened attentively for a few more seconds and he heard it again. He decided that asking for permission was not going to help and he gently opened the door. "I'm coming in, Mar," he warned her, but there was no reply this time either.

He walked toward one of the nightstands and turned on a lamp. Mary was lying on her side, on a fetal position, crying quietly. For a few seconds, he did not know what to do. Then he knelt by her side and whispered, "Mar, I'm here. Let me help you. What's going on?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Mar, I'm not leaving. Just tell me how I can help you."

She sat up and sighed. "You don't understand. There's nothing you can do," she finally said, still crying.

Marshall walked around the bed and sat by her side. "Come here," he said as he stretched his right arm to hold her.

She accepted the invitation and leaned into his embrace.

"Now, tell me what's going on."

She sobbed one more time and then said, "Everything is wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"Everything. I can't go to work, I'm trapped in this house full of holes and I still have almost thirty years of mortgage ahead of me… I can't even eat what I want. And to top it all, today you-" she stopped and corrected herself, "today Raph left me."

"Raph left you? I thought he was on a trip or something when I realized he wasn't here. What happened?"

"It wasn't working. He broke the engagement and he moved back to his old apartment."

Marshall could not avoid a little burst of joy in his heart, but then he felt guilty about it. "You wanted him to stay?" he asked carefully.

Mary took a few seconds to answer. She was trying to stop sobbing; she cleaned her tears and took a deep breath. "Honestly? No. He's right. It wasn't working. Ever since the engagement we haven't done anything but argue a bout everything. I think he feels that I'm too domineering."

Marshall let out a little laugh. "You? Domineering? Nooo…"

She smiled. "Okay, I admit it, I like to be in control, but you have to understand; lately, I'm not in control of anything."

"Mar, listen. You're getting over some big traumas this year. You have to give yourself a chance to recover and then, slowly, everything will go back to normal."

"And what if I don't recover?" she said pessimistically.

"Hey! Have some faith in yourself! You're strong and you don't usually doubt yourself. Just give it a little time. We're all here to help you. Even your family is growing up because of you. Your mom isn't drinking anymore and your sister is back in college. Everything will get better."

"Yeah," she said with sarcasm, "All's going to be just peachy in no time. Then, we can sell tickets to see the great family Shannon. The father is a bigamous bastard who abandoned his children without a word, twice. The mother is a former alcoholic, the youngest daughter used to be a drug-dealer, and the oldest-"

"And the oldest daughter is a brave, generous, smart, and beautiful woman."

"Shut up!" she said with a smile as she tried to hit him with a pillow.

"What? It's true," he said, trying to sound serious. Then he smiled. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," she replied with a deep sigh.

"Okay, then my mission has been accomplished. Go back to bed and remember, everything is going to get better."

She nodded.

"I'll tuck you in," he added as he got up.

She slid down the bed and he fixed her covers.

"Good night, Mar." he was about to leave, when Mary stretched her arm from under the covers and grabbed one of his hands.

"Don't leave me alone… Not tonight."

He looked at her, then looked at the door, worried about what her family would think, and then he looked back at her. "Okay; I'll be right there," he said.

He walked back to the other side of the bed and lay on top of the covers by her side. He arranged the pillows on his side to be able to have a better view of her and he covered himself with a blanket that was at the bottom of the bed.

As soon as he stopped moving, Mary turned off the light and soon she was asleep. She was feeling strangely hopeful and calm.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 7**

It took a long while for Marshall to finally fall asleep. Though he could not see much in the darkness of her room, he _knew _she was right there by his side and than kept him awake. For a short while he allowed himself to imagine how it could be to always have her there, but, soon, his sense of correctness made him try to banish those images out of his mind with a shake of his head and a deep sigh.

So Raph was gone… but Marshall did not think that was completely over. After all, he was quite certain that her illness had had more to do with her heartache than with her eating habits. She had accepted to get engaged with him and, in Marshall's eyes, that implied a level of commitment that he had not thought Mary capable of. True, she had been married before, but she had only been a teenager trying to escape from a home that was suffocating her.

She was going to go back to Raph. He was a good man and he obviously loved her. He had seen it in his eyes, in his gestures, in his hands covering his face during those awful hours they had shared in the ICU waiting room.

Now, everything Marshall had to do was to continue with his plan to have a life separated than Mary's. His date with Shelley had gone pretty well and, if he had not been interrupted by Brandi's call, they probably would have set a date for another encounter. He would have time to do it the following week. Tonight, he was going to concentrate in making sure Mary was alright.

A couple of hours after falling asleep, Marshall was awakened by a warm sensation close to his face. He opened his eyes, but the room was too dark for him to see what was going on. Nevertheless, he was certain that someone was breathing very close to his face. Mary.

"I was dreaming about you," an ostensibly sleepy but happy voice said a second later.

Then he felt Mary's hand on his neck, pulling his face towards hers. He thought for an instant to stop her, but, before he could decide, she kissed him.

It was a sweet, tender kiss, and it did not last long. He barely responded to her before she was gone.

Mary turned in bed and went back to sleep with a satisfied sigh.

Marshall could not do the same. Fist, he felt guilty about returning her kiss, even for as brief a moment as he had. It reminded him too much of that day in the stables, when he had misinterpreted her attempt to cover up the real reason for their presence there and he had kissed her back.

Second, he was pretty sure that she had not remembered it was him who was lying by her side. That was probably Raph's usual position in their bed.

Third, he had just gotten another reminder of how much he would have liked for Mary to be dreaming of him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 8**

A sleepy Jinx walked toward the living-room.

"Brandi," she whispered when she saw her youngest daughter sleeping on the sofa.

Brandi did not wake up until her mother softly tapped her shoulder.

"What?" She asked.

"What time did he leave?"

Brandi thought for as second. "I don't think he did. I didn't see him leave."

"Maybe you'd already fallen asleep."

Brandi shook her head emphatically. "No. I stayed up very late, on purpose. He didn't leave. Besides," she added as she leaned forward to look through the window, "his SUV is still there."

Jinx made a little gesture of delight. "I'll go see if I can hear anything."

They both walked quietly towards Mary's room.

"The door is not completely closed," Brandi announced in a very low voice.

"Can you see anything?"

Brandi peered through the small opening. "I see," she started with clear excitement, "I see him! He's on the other side of the bed. I see his hair on the pillow… and I see… I see his boots," she finished with disappointment.

"Of course his boots would be somewhere in there."

"No, I see his boots _on his feet_. He's sleeping with them on. Also, with his jacket."

"Oh," Jinx shared her disenchantment. "Well, it's too soon after Rafael left. That would be the gracious thing to do."

"Yeah, because Mary is always so gracious."

"Maybe Mary isn't, but Marshall is definitely a gentleman. I wouldn't expect anything less from him," Jinx said seriously.

Brandi smiled. "I'm going to my room. Maybe I can still sleep a couple more hours."

"Yeah; I'll do that, too." Jinx walked toward her room for a few seconds and then turned to talk to Brandi one more time. "At least, I think we're in the right track and I'm going to help Mary this time. I haven't given her anything but disappointments, just like the loser of her father."

Brandi smiled at her, "It will be alright, Mom."

"Yes, it will," Jinx said as she entered her room with a mischievous smile.

Marshall did not exactly hear them talking in the hallway, but he was roused from sleep by the strong sensation that they were being watched. He got up, looked around, checked the window and then opened the door wider to check the hallway. Nothing. Perhaps he had been dreaming.

He looked at Mary to be sure that she was still sleeping and he went into the bathroom. After washing his face with cold water and trying to fix his hair as best as possible, he looked at himself in the mirror. His clothes did not look very well.

He sighed. What was he doing there? Why was he setting himself up for hurting? He should be at home, figuring out a way to be happy with Shelley ─or any other woman for that matter─ instead of picking up the pieces of Mary and Raph's relationship. It was not like Mary would magically see him in a different light just because he was there whenever she needed him.

No, he was not doing it to get her attention. He was there because he could not let her down. She needed him and he was not going to fail her.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Alright, he had to finish this and then he could go home.

He went back to the room and sat on the chair by the bed. He grabbed a book from the nightstand and opened it somewhere in the middle.

He was not going to let her wake up alone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 9**

_**A.N. I was having a hard time with English prepositions today. I apologize for the mistakes I surely made. I wish I knew this language as well as I know mine!**_

By the time Marshall finally made it to his house, he was really mad. It was not because Mary had lashed out at him for _touching_ Raph's book on Witness Protection, or because she had mocked him for being a prude who had felt necessary to spend the night in his clothes to sleep in her bed, or because she had made fun of his date, especially after he had told her that it had been with Shelley. No, it was because he had not been expecting any of that. He should have. That was who Mary was and he usually did not let her hurt him. He had lowered his defenses just because she was sick, depressed, and hurt. He should have known that all of that would not change her in any way. If he was hurting, he was the only one to blame.

He walked to his room, took a quick shower, and then called Shelley.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Mary was furious. She had seen the hurt in Marshall's eyes and it had made her very angry. Who the heck did he think he was? Did he imagine that just because he had taken her to the doctor ─against her will─ he had the right to lecture her about what she was doing wrong? And, _come on_, who in this day and time felt that it was required to sleep in his clothes to protect a lady's reputation? Moreover, _why was he treating her like a lady_? Hello! This was Mary. He knew her. He was her only best friend.

He had no right to be hurt by what she had said to him. Raph's book was none of his damn business and he should not have touched it. And if he did not want her to laugh at him, he should not have gone on a date with that woman.

That bothered her the most. She knew Shelley was a nice woman; a professional, educated, and pretty woman. But she thought that Marshall was looking for something different. Not a soft spoken kitty cat.

She went to her nightstand, opened the drawer and grabbed the notebook she had been using for mapping out her relationship with Marshall. She had been insane. There was nothing between them. She had misinterpreted Marshall's concern for her when she had been high on painkillers.

She was about to throw the notebook in the wastebasket, when something stopped her and, instead, she threw it inside one of the cluttered drawers of her home desk.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

By the end of the following week, after having endured three annoying sessions with Dr. Finkle and having received the okay from her doctors, Mary was allowed to go back to work, on desk duty for a while.

At least, she was not trapped in her house anymore. The days spent in _captivity_ ─as she saw her convalescence─ had made her more aware of the state of destruction of her home and she had regretted stopping Raph's attempts to fix it.

What she had not regretted was the end of her relationship with him. Brandi had checked up on him several times during the week, because she was "worried about Chico". He seemed to have been doing fine, according to her.

Mary was doing fine, too. For the first time in a long time, she was not feeling the need to use sex to calm her anxieties and, without that need, Raph was not that indispensable. That revelation had surprised her, but perhaps it meant that she was growing up. That idea pleased her. Marshall was always stating how immature she was. Well, maybe not that much anymore. Maybe being shot had given her a new perspective.

Her relationship with Marshall, on the other hand, had gone back to its normal parameters. She felt comfortable in their old routine in spite of not being allowed to go in the field. The constant banter with Eleanor also helped her feel at home.

During the weekend, she allowed Peter to take her with Jinx and Brandi to dinner to celebrate her recovery and her return to work. Though she felt Marshall and Stan should have been there, she did not invite them to the outing. After all, she knew Marshall would excuse himself because he had another date with Shelley.

Mary would have liked to drink enough to forget that fact, but sharing the table with Jinx and Peter meant a night of sodas and water.

On Tuesday afternoon, after finishing the relocation of a problematic family, Stan gave his people the rest of the day off. Mary asked Marshall to drive her home because Brandi had dropped her at the office on her way to school and was not planning on picking her up until the end of the day. He agreed and they left the office together.

On their way to her house, Marshall got a call from Dr. Morris, a witness they had relocated in Albuquerque with his family the year before. Dr. Morris was concerned because he had found his front door unlocked when coming from work. He was certain nobody in the house would be that careless, especially after all they had gone through.

Marshall immediately started asking questions while he drove straight to their house. For a minute he was tempted to leave Mary behind ─she was not supposed to be in the field─ but the urgency of the matter made him reconsider. By the time they got to the house, the whole family was there. The father ─against Marshall's recommendations─ had entered the house and checked that there were no intruders inside.

Marshall asked everybody out of the house, so that he could check it himself. Lily yelled that she would get out as soon as she found their cat.

Marshall carefully searched the house. When he got to the den, he saw a plain cardboard box on top of the fireplace mantel. It looked out of place in the otherwise pristine house. He gently retrieved his phone and asked the family outside what the box contained. Nobody seemed to know what he was talking about. His heart rate accelerated. He asked everybody to move away from the house and started making his way back to the front door when he spotted Lily carrying the cat in a back room. He ran towards her and rushed her out of the house. They were barely out in the front porch when a loud explosion rocked the neighborhood.

Lily was ahead of Marshall and fell to the floor because of the blast. Marshall, still on the front steps, was thrown forward by the explosion. He crashed against the pavement with a loud knock, amidst a rain of debris.

Mary and the others run towards them. While Dr. Morris was checking his daughter, Mary gently turned Marshall, who was lying face down.

The first thing that worried her was a fast-growing red stain in his chest. Then, there was an angry red mark on his hairline that seemed to swell by the second. A few seconds later, the doctor was by her side. He ordered not to move Marshall any further and asked his wife to hold his head up. He swiftly checked the wound in the chest and dismissed it immediately as barely superficial. He checked his vital signs and he grew concerned.

"What?!" Mary asked as she noticed his demeanor. "Is it bad?"

"Iris already called 911. They're on their way. Just keep him awake; I'll see what I have in my car."

Mary looked at Marshall. He was conscious, but he had not said a word since the explosion. "Marshall? Can you hear me? What do you feel?" she tried.

He did not answer. He just stared at her and that was when she noticed it. There it was again, _the look_. Somehow she felt he was worried about _her_. She tried to say something, but his eyes kept her quiet. They were talking to her. He was trying to say something. She could feel he meant he loved her. He wanted her to know it, before anything happened. He had to have been thinking that something bad was going to happen because, without a doubt, what he was saying next, through his eyes and through the hand that was now squeezing hers tightly, was good-bye.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 10**

Mary had a hard time concentrating in getting her family of witnesses out of harm's way. She did not want them out in the open where they could be targeted, so she convinced most of them to hide in a neighbor's house until there were other marshals there to help. Dr. Morris stayed by her to look after Marshall. He vehemently refused to obey Mary and finally stated that if it was his time to go, he would take it, because he owed it to the man who had saved his daughter.

Mary had called Stan and she knew he was on his way, but she was starting to feel desperate. Marshall was still bleeding from the chest and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. She had tried most of her repertoire of harsh words to encourage him to stay awake, but she was losing the battle. He was not even looking at her like before and he still had not said a word. She kept thinking that he was putting all his effort in just keeping breathing.

Though the ambulance took only a few minutes to get to them, Mary felt it had been ages. Stan was there only a few seconds later and he took charge of the situation immediately. The witnesses were taken away, the house was cordoned off, and the damage assessment in the neighborhood started immediately. Stan wanted as many neighbors as possible interrogated to figure out if anyone had seen whoever had put the bomb in the Morris' house.

Mary left in the ambulance with Marshall. She felt she was in the way as the two paramedics kept connecting tubes and shoving syringes into Marshall. His eyes were closed most of the time now and whenever he was able to open them, she felt he was looking for her. Trying not to interfere with his care, she squeezed her arm by his side and held his hand. He immediately opened his eyes, so she made sure that this time he could see her face close to him. Marshall acknowledged her hand in his with a little bit of pressure and then closed his eyes again. Seconds later they were at the hospital, the same one where she had been only a few weeks ago.

After Marshall was taken into the emergency room, Mary was left on her own in the corridor. She had blood in her hands and clothes and she kept looking at them as if she could not understand it. She felt a growing pressure in her chest and she was sure she was going to choke with some invisible object down her throat.

"Are you okay, young lady? You look pale," an old nurse asked her as she came out of an office down the hall. She approached Mary, who was nodding at her, and realized who she was. "Ah… You're the police officer who got shot a while ago. What are you doing here? You weren't feeling okay?"

"My partner was in an accident," she covered the real story. "They've got him in there," she added as she pointed to the emergency room with her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's in good hands. Come with me," she said and guided Mary to a room down the corridor. "You can wait here. There's a washroom to the right. I'll get you something so that you can get those bloody clothes off."

Mary walked to the washroom and threw up. She was feeling very sick. She cleaned as much of the blood as she could from herself and, when the nurse came back with some kind of shirt, she took hers off and threw it in the wastebasket. She did not want to see Marshall's blood in it ever again.

When she came out of the bathroom, the nurse was waiting for her.

Mary thanked her and insisted she was okay, but the nurse said she could wait with her until her family came.

Mary would have scoffed at that comment, but she did not have the strength.

"I'll tell you, it's good that you're okay this time, because I don't think your husband could go through that again. When I saw him by the door of the ER the day you were shot, it made my heart shrink. Thankfully, the older gentleman was right there a few seconds later to comfort him, because he was so heartbroken… I don't know if it was his father or your father, but you know who I mean." She sighed. "I've seen horrible things around here, but very few men cry when something like that happens. I thought it was very brave of him that he didn't care what others thought. He was just worried about you."

Mary did not know what to answer. She could not imagine Raph crying in the hallway and neither of them had a father. The lady was obviously mistaken. She was about to correct her when Stan came in through the door.

"Ah, there he is. I'll leave you with him until your husband gets here. If I see him in the hallway, I'll send him right in." She stood up and walked out of the room after giving Stan a smile.

Mary's mind started throwing ideas around.

"No news yet. I just asked," Stan said before he sat down. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she lied. Then she looked at him and asked, "Were you here, in the hallway, when I was shot?"

"Yeah; I got here a few minutes after Marshall. He said he caught you when you were coming down the hallway, but they didn't let him into the ER."

Mary felt the pressure in her chest intensify. Marshall was crying for her. She could not imagine him crying for any reason. She had never seen him cry. He was the toughest man she knew.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 11**

The last time Mary had waited for news about Marshall, she had cried inconsolably, holding onto her mother as if there were no hope left. For days afterward, she had felt somewhat ashamed of her public display of emotions. Now, having heard of Marshall's behavior when she had been shot, she felt ashamed of having been ashamed… If that made sense. Her mind was full of ideas and most of them had to do with him. Sitting there silently by Stan was driving her crazy, so she decided to start figuring out what she was feeling.

"What did Marshall tell you when you found him in the hallway that day? She suddenly asked Stan.

"Huh?" Stan was so absorbed in his own thoughts that it took him a few seconds to understand what Mary was asking. He decided to answer with the truth. "He was very worried because you were not breathing when they brought you."

Mary nodded in understanding and then went back to looking at the floor, so Stan opted for keeping quiet, too. A few minutes later, she stood up and said. "I'm going to call my mom. She probably doesn't know. She likes Marshall a lot."

"I asked Eleanor to call your family so that they didn't worry if they heard news about a marshal being injured, but I don't know if she got to talk to them."

"Okay."

She walked outside the waiting room and into the old nurse's office. "Hey, I was wondering…" She searched the back pocket of her trousers and took a small wallet out. She always carried some change and identification with her, because she never knew what she could suddenly need and if she would be able to find her handbag. "If you don't mind," she took a small picture of herself standing between her partner and her boss. "This is Marshall… You said, you said he was crying that day… He _doesn't_ cry, not _usually,_ so I thought maybe-"

"No. I'm not wrong. That's him. He was leaning against the wall by the ER doors and he just slid down and crouched there crying with so much sentiment…"

Mary nodded, still shocked.

"He ran all the way from the beginning of the hallway, talking to you as they wheeled you to the ER, and then he kissed your forehead right before they pushed you in. It was so beautiful… and painful to watch at the same time. You're a very lucky lady. Hold onto the boy. He's a treasure."

Mary smiled. She did not know what to say. She muttered a thank you and went to call her mother.

Nobody answered the phone in her house. She was about to call her sister's cell phone, when someone called her name.

"Mary," Raph said as he approached her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked surprised.

"I heard in the news that a marshal had been injured in an explosion-"

"And you thought it was me?"

"No. They talked about _his _condition, so I thought it could be Marshall. I thought you could need a friend."

Mary was not in the mood to be her abrasive self and, after all, Raph's was a pretty decent gesture. "Yeah. It's Marshall. We don't know anything yet."

"What do you need?"

"I can't get ahold of my mother or Brandi."

"Okay. I'll find them. You don't worry about that."

She agreed and went back to Stan's side. For the rest of the time she was sitting there, she could not stop thinking about what the nurse had said. He had walked by her side, talked to her, kissed her. How could she have memories of that herself? She had not been breathing… She had been technically dead, yet she had seen him, running, whispering… It was not her imagination. He had really been there.

When a couple of hours later a doctor came into the room looking for Marshall's family, Stan stood up.

"His family lives in another state. They're on their way. I'm Stan McQueen, from the Marshals' Service," he added as he showed him his badge. "We're his family here."

The doctor looked at the small group and decided to explain the situation to them. "Inspector Mann suffered multiple minor injuries due to the blast and the subsequent fall against the pavement. We found at least three minor fractures in one of his hands and two broken ribs, but what actually has caused us the major concern is the traumatic brain injury. Dr. Morris reported that he was initially unconscious after the impact, but he immediately regained consciousness and remained in a lucid interval until the time of surgery, of course with a declining status, but being awake is something very positive after a concussion. It reduces the level of mortality for this type of injury to the lowest level."

"Surgery?" Jinx asked from behind Mary.

"I'm afraid that surgery was inevitable. Mr. Mann was suffering bradycardia, hypertension, severe headache, aphasia, and nausea and vomiting, which prompted us to do a CT scan of his brain. One of those symptoms would have been enough, but he had so many that we worked as swiftly as we could. The scan showed that, though there was no skull fracture, there was an intracranial hematoma; _epidural_ to be more precise."

"What does that mean?" Brandi wanted to know.

"It's an area filled with blood because of the rupture of blood vessels. In this case, it happened between the skull and the membrane that covers the brain, the _dura mater_, hence the name. The accumulation of blood causes pressure against the brain ─what we call elevated intracranial pressure─ and that can cause severe damage to the brain. We needed to operate to evacuate the hematoma and coagulate the bleeding vessels."

"Is there damage or did you get there in time?" Stan asked.

"We can't assess that until he wakes up from the anesthesia. There are two many factors to consider to be able to predict what could happen."

Jinx sat down and said a little prayer of gratitude. Those were very much the same words she had heard about Mary and she had come out unscathed. Jinx was very thankful for that.

"In any case, I think we acted very fast and that greatly improves the prognosis. We hope the aphasia is only transient."

Mary was listening to all the medical terms and her brain was drowning in them. She wished Marshall was there. He probably knew every one of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 12**

**_A.N. I will be on vacation this weekend, so I don't know if I will be able to update at all. Here is one more section in case I can only post one more time before leaving. I think the next part will have a strong T, so I warn you about it beforehand. I just read a couple of stories about IPS on the Internet and I was appalled at how out of character Mary and _****_Marshall_****_ seemed, even Raph. I hope this is not that bad! Please, take a minute and give me your opinion. Thanks!_**

When Marshall first woke up, it took him a few seconds to figure out where he was or, at least, where he _probably_ was. The light in the room bothered him, so he closed his eyes almost immediately. He was in the hospital and he was in pain. He could count so many sources of pain that it was nearly confusing. He did not want to move and alert any device that could be monitoring him until he could remember what had happened.

There was the call from Dr. Morris… He remembered that. He had gone straight to his house… with Mary. Oh, God! Was Mary okay? He opened his eyes and tried to move. The pain stopped him.

"Marshall? Marshall? You're awake… How are you feeling?"

Mary got up from her chair and walked to the side of the bed.

He wanted to answer that he was fine, because _she_ was fine, but he could not make the words come to his mouth.

"Do you remember what happened? The bomb, the explosion?" she asked, getting closer.

Her words triggered many confusing memories. Yes, there was a bomb in the house. In that box. Yeah; they did not know what it was. It was a bomb; he was right. So, it had exploded. He did not remember _that_ very well… Iris. Iris was with him. He grew concerned.

Mary seemed to read his eyes. "Iris is alright. Only a few scrapes."

He calmed down. Good. That was good.

"You got it worse, but you're doing fine now." She smiled, "They cracked your head open, doofus, and they found a whole tome of the Encyclopedia of Useless Facts in there. You've made medical history."

Marshall tried to smile. He was probably doing well if she was treating him like that.

"I suppose I should tell the nurse you're awake." She gave him one more look and then she leaned towards him.

Marshall closed his eyes in anticipation for a kiss in his forehead. Maybe he had earned that little treat.

He opened them back immediately when she softly kissed his lips. Before he could even process the news, she was out of the room.

In a few seconds there were a doctor and two nurses in the room. The doctor asked him several questions and Marshall nodded or shook his head for most of the answers.

"You still haven't told me your name."

He made his best effort and finally one word came out. "Marsh," was all he could say.

"That's great Marshall, that's a huge improvement. It will all come back soon." He then explained to him the extent of his injuries and what measures had been taken to ensure he would recover. "Did you understand it all or do you need me to explain any of it?"

Marshall shook his head. "…Fine."

The doctor smiled. "Your partner said you'd have no problem understanding. She was right. Do you want me to let your family in, now?"

Marshall seemed shocked.

"Your parents are here and there's a group of friends, too. I'll let them come in in small groups, okay? They've been very worried, but I don't want them to hinder the progress we're making, so if they upset or tire you out in any way, let us know. Your wellbeing is the priority, okay?"

Marshall nodded and then regretted doing it. He had to stop doing that. His head was killing him.

The doctor noticed his expression. "It's time for the next round of painkillers. You'll feel better soon."

The nurses worked with his IV line and the relief was almost immediate, but he was still shocked about his parents. He had expressly requested that they were _not_ called unless he was dead or cut in pieces, or something of that magnitude. Some intracranial bleeding did not qualify, as it had not being shot in the shoulder. Before he was sent in the ambulance that time, he had made it clear to Stan that he should _not_ call his parents, that he would call them later himself. Maybe he had been too optimistic, but he had been right. It had not avoided his father's rant or his mother's concern, but they had not gone through the hours of fruitless wait.

Though nobody else in his family knew it, his father also worked for the Witness Protection Program and Marshall knew how hard it was to leave the witnesses behind.

His mother was a Professor and he admired her every bit as much as he admired his father. She was probably worrying herself to death.

A few seconds later, both of them came into the room, followed by Shelley Finkle. He listened to everything they said, but he kept being distracted by the fact that Shelley was there with them. It felt like she was intruding. He would not have even allowed Mary to come with them.

After they left, Stan and Eleanor visited him and Brandi and Jinx came in for a minute. Mary came last.

"Hey. Just wanted to say bye before I take Brandi and Jinx home. Raph brought them here and he's left already, so-" She noticed the change in his face when she mentioned Raph, so she added, "He was worried about you. I don't know what kind of bonding you two got into when I was shot, but… He's a good friend."

"Yeah," Marshall said softly.

"Ah, you're talking now. Didn't have much to say to me, uh?"

Marshall smiled.

Mary did not want to leave without saying one more thing, but she did not know how. She sighed and got closer to him. "I don't know what you've doing to me, Marshall, but I think it's mellowing me… and that's not good. I have to figure this out before it gets worse."

"Figure out what?" He asked with great effort.

"What you make me feel, you numb nuts," she said with contempt. "Unless you're planning on making Finkle part of your family."

"What? No!" He whispered. He had been trying to move on from her, but marriage was a completely different story.

"Good," she said, squeezed his hand and left.

Marshall was thunderstruck.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 13**

**_A.N. Warning!!! There's talk about sex in this section, nothing graphic, but, still it helps the imagination a lot. If you are too young for this or you feel offended by this type of writing, please, stay away from this chapter. It is surprising how many people read in spite of the warning and then review to complain. So, please, again, strong T rating for this section. _**

Mary went home, took a shower and grabbed the notebook she had thrown in her drawer. She was not blind. She had felt jealousy; pure, strong, infuriating jealousy when Shelley had sat with the Manns and discussed Marshall's health. They should have been talking to her. Just because he had taken her on a couple of dates, it did not give her the right to become part of the family. Marshall loved _her_, not Shelley.

She looked at her diagrams and notes. When had she noticed that Marshall was looking at her in a different way? Maybe there had not been a sudden change. Maybe there had been a gradual strengthening of his feelings. However, during the last year it had become definitely more noticeable.

Was Marshall happy that time when she had not run to help Raph after Brandi took his car? He was certainly shocked when she admitted she was engaged to him. But then Raph had said that Marshall had been very supportive after she was shot… Well, that was Marshall.

She had written comments about so many other instances where she could have seen something, that it was almost overwhelming. He had certainly kissed her back that night at Treena's. That had been some kiss…

And what about the day when he had been shot? Was it really because he was in love with her that he was trying to leave the Service? Had the _exotic creature keeper_ idea come from there? Was the keeper in love with his creature?

Mary sighed. She should have seen it in his eyes. The way he had looked at her that day… The same way as when she had woken up with a hole in her stomach or right before the ambulance had taken him away a couple of days ago. It was a look so intense that it made her shiver. The same intensity she had felt when he had hugged her in that ugly basement, as if he were not going to ever let her go.

Okay. So, if she believed that Marshall was in love with her, what did she feel about it? She spent the rest of the day thinking about it. By the time she went to bed, she had discovered that the notion of being in love with Marshall was exhilarating, but there was one detail that bothered her a great deal. Chemistry. One little kiss was no indicator of anything. She had fabulous chemistry with Raph. Would she have it with Marshall?

The next morning she visited him in the hospital, His head was still bandaged.

She entered the room, looked at the nurse who was writing on a chart and asked, "How's the mummy doing today?"

The nurse smiled and answered, "Much better."

"I'm here, you know?" Marshall asked from his bed.

"She knows better," Mary replied.

The nurse left the room and Mary sat by his side.

"How are you _really_ feeling?"

He took a few seconds and said, "Sore, everywhere."

"I can imagine." She paused. "I met your parents yesterday. I don't think they liked me too much, but they were smitten with Shelley," she added in a tone that amused Marshall.

"Shelley and I had a talk last night."

"She was here? I thought we were supposed to let you rest-"

"I asked her to stay a little while."

"Ah…" Mary said disappointed.

Marshall enjoyed it a little bit. Then, he said, "We talked about how well we feel when we're together and-"

Mary felt extremely uncomfortable and looked down at the edge of the sheets.

He noticed and almost smiled, "-but I don't think she's over her ex, so I asked her to take some time and deal with it. Perhaps we'll try later on, or maybe we won't, but-"

Mary would have smiled, but she avoided it very carefully. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Mary nodded silently. That was great, but she was not going to say it.

"And my parents _did_ like you. My mother thought you were very much like my father. My father liked that."

"You guys talked about me?"

"Of course. I'm always talking about you. They were curious to meet _my best friend_," he added deliberately and she felt a little let down.

Over the next two weeks, Marshall slowly recovered and his hair grew back where it had been shaved. He had to cut the rest very short to make it look less different. On the third week, he was allowed to go back, with a few restrictions, but pretty much recovered.

Stan was very proud of his two marshals. They had had a couple of rough months, but they were back at work.

One morning, after dropping a visiting marshal at the airport, Marshall and Mary decided to have breakfast at an almost deserted diner.

"Why do you always choose these places?" Mary asked, inspecting the locale before sitting in a corner booth.

"Because they're less conspicuous," he replied/

"Less what?" she mocked him.

"Come, on, sit down. The food is good."

"You've been in this dump before?"

"I discovered it the last time I came to the airport."

"I wouldn't call it much of a discovery… More like an unfortunate-"

"Come on, the waitress is coming," he interrupted her, "Play nice."

"Like she doesn't already know."

After the waitress brought them their breakfast, Mary decided it was the right time to talk about what she had been obsessing about for the previous weeks.

She looked at him, unsure of how to start.

He noticed she had stopped eating and looked at her. He worried immediately. "What?"

She took a few more seconds, then sighed and said, with a tone that showed she was admitting to something she did not want to let be known, "I need to have sex with you."

Marshall almost choked on his food. "What?!" he asked with his eyes open big and looking straight at her eyes.

"I thought I was pretty clear. I need to have sex with you. Make love, sleep together, make out… whatever you want to call it."

"Why?" he asked in his most puzzled voice, still shocked and very confused.

"Why? Do I need to tell you why? Can't you just be happy and do it?"

He shook his head slowly. "No… I need to know why." He could not imagine why she would want to sleep with him, but none of the reasons he could think of made him happy. Especially if she just wanted to use him as a stand-in because she had no boyfriend.

Mary hesitated for a short while. "Okay," she finally said. "If you must know, I've been having these _feelings_ and I've been concerned that if I allowed them to grow, they would-"

"_Feelings_?" he interrupted her. "Feelings for me? What kind of feelings?"

"Of course for you, nitwit." She replied impatiently. "Why would I be talking to you if it were-"

"Okay… and you want to have sex _because_…?"

"I don't think we'll work well together," she stated plainly. "So, if we prove this fact, I can stop obsessing about it and-"

"You're obsessing about it?" Marshall asked, now amused.

"Okay," she said very annoyed. "If you're not taking this seriously…"

"Oh, I'm taking it seriously. It's just that you just said that-"

"Stop it, okay? I know what I said. Are you going to do it? Because I have a few rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes, rules, kinks, quirks, whatever."

"I'm listening," Marshall said. It was hard for him to contain his enthusiasm, but he did not want to look too eager. After all, he had dreamt about making love to her for years, but having feelings going with it was beyond his expectations.

"Okay. I'm in charge. I like it hot and heavy and I like to be on top. I like to ride," she finished and she was amazed that she had been able to tell _that_ to Marshall. She had to be going insane.

He took a few seconds to recover. He quietly took a deep breath and, with his most normal voice, he said, "It seems like we could work that out, _provided that_-"

"We could? You could? Provided what?"

He looked thoughtful for a second. "_Provided_ that _then_ I get to do it _my way_."

"Your way? Which way?" she asked, almost alarmed.

"I'm more of a five-sense kind of guy."


	14. Chapter 14

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 14**

**_A.N. Warning!!! There's talk about sex in this section, too; nothing too graphic, but, still it helps the imagination a lot. If you are too young for this or you feel offended by this type of writing, please, stay away from this chapter. It is surprising how many people read in spite of the warning and then review to complain. So, please, again, strong T rating for this section. _**

"And what on Earth is that supposed to mean?"

"We can talk about it if we get there," he said calmly. "No point discussing it now."

"Of course there's a point. I want to know."

"And I don't want to tell you," he replied smugly.

She was about to call him a rather insulting name, when both their cells rang at the same time. A few minutes later they were on their way to the office.

After spending the rest of the day taking care of a witness who had been unable to resist calling his ex-girlfriend ─putting in jeopardy his life and making relocation necessary─ Mary and Marshall went back to the office to finish the paperwork. All day long they had carefully avoided talking about their morning conversation and they had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to keep the whole idea out of their minds.

Around eleven at night they were finally done.

"You two go home and take tomorrow off," Stan told them as they gave him their final reports. "Eleanor and I will take care of the rest. This has been a hard week and you stayed almost every day until close to midnight. You deserve some time off."

Marshall was very thankful, but Mary was suspicious. "Any reason you want us out of the office tomorrow?" she asked.

Stan denied it at first, but finally caved in under Mary's pressure. "Okay. It's not that I don't want you here. It's that I want you to take care of whatever is bothering you both. I know there's something going on between the two of you. I don't know if you've had a fight or what, but you've been behaving very strangely all evening. You only look at him when you think he's not looking," he said to Mary, "and you," he looked at Marshall, "are doing the same with her. So, just take a day off, resolve your differences and come back on Monday ready to work."

"We haven't had a fight," Marshall started.

"I don't want to know. Just fix it before Monday. That's all I have to say."

Marshall and Mary decided it was best to obey their boss and left the office in silence.

When they got to the parking lot, Mary said, "I'll follow you to your house and we'll talk there. No sense trying to have a conversation anywhere in my house."

Marshall nodded and got into his SUV. As he drove home, he could not stop worrying about what Mary wanted to talk about. The fact that she had expressed interest in having sex with him had made him happy and unhappy at the same time. Okay, he _did _want to do it. He had imagined it happening it many times. He had wished it would happen someday.

On the other hand, he had thought it would be very different. He had thought that one day he would have the courage to tell Mary about his feelings for her and she would miraculously share them and they would be happy forever… _No._ In truth, he had thought that it would never happen that way because he would never tell her anything that could ruin their friendship. She had called him her _best friend_, her _only friend_, and if that was all she wanted from him, that was what he was going to give her.

Now, she was asking for more, but _what exactly?_ She had talked about feelings, but she had not been very clear about them. What did she really want? He was going to have a long conversation with her as soon as they got to his house. He was going to ask for some kind of assurance that this was not just a meaningless satisfaction of a need.

Mary was thinking, too. She had expected him to jump at the opportunity to sleep with her. She was pretty certain by then that he was in love with her. So, why had he been so controlled, so calm about it? He had seemed surprised, but she had not been able to see beyond that. She usually knew him better than that. It was as if when it related to her, she was blind to what he was really feeling.

In any case, what worried her the most was the sex itself. She was almost convinced that it would not work. She liked high spirited, passionate men, like Raph. Marshall seemed too serene, too sedate. Obviously he was passionate about his job, he was strong, and he was tough, but that was not evidence of what he would be in bed.

She had tried to ask herself why that aspect of their relationship was so important to her. She had wondered why she could not be happy with the fact that she had fallen for him, that she missed him when she was not with him, that she was jealous of other women around him… But no, that was not enough. She wanted a fiery relationship. She wanted what she had had with Marshall all those years _plus_ what she used to have with Rafael.

Around midnight, they finally made it to his house. He unlocked the door and let her in. He had just put his briefcase on a small table in the foyer when Mary approached him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He took a few seconds to respond. He wanted to talk first, but Mary had other ideas. Before he could even say a word, she was hanging from his neck, with her legs straddling his hips. As he was holding her tight against his body, one of Horst's comments came to his mind, _"You're not exactly petite,"_ and he immediately felt guilty. Something was wrong. Mary was kissing him and he was not enjoying it. At all.

He laboriously walked with her in his arms ─to put it some way─ toward the bedroom and, before he knew it, he was laying across his bed with Mary on top. By then, he was not thinking anymore. He was flooded with pleasurable sensations and conflicting feelings. When, less than half an hour later, she moved to his side and lay face down, naked, breathing loudly on his bed, he suddenly felt very unhappy. It was not that he was not physically satisfied. No. It had been a very pleasing experience, to say it mildly. And, in a way, it was good that it had not taken that much longer… He had wanted Mary for so long that it would have been impossible for him to last much more. The problem was that it had not been enough. He had not felt a connection with her. He had not felt they had made love. Just as she had asked, they had had sex. And that did not go well with the way he was.

He was feeling cold, but he realized that he had not lost any of his clothing during the process; not even his boots. He sloppily arranged his clothes and announced he was going to the bathroom. There, he looked at himself in the mirror. That had been a mistake, from beginning to end. He did not want _that_ with Mary. He wanted the whole package, love, passion, romance, friendship … Or nothing. Actually, he could stick to the friendship, but nothing else.

How was he going to tell her that? Well, probably he would not have to do it. She had been testing him and he had failed miserably. She had guessed that they would most likely not have good chemistry and she had been right. Anyone could have sex that way. They were not ready to make love. Possibly they would never be.

Okay; she was going to unceremoniously dump him and it was going to be all right.

Meanwhile, Mary was still in bed trying to regain her normal breathing rhythm. That had been _fabulous_. She had never expected Marshall to be so strong, so passionate, so capable of dealing with her fire. There was room for improvement, of course. Next time she would make sure that he had time to get rid of his clothes. Oh, the man had clothes on him… Too many for the limited time they had. She had been burning and it had been urgent that he put out the fire inside of her. It had taken her too long to get to this point. She had spent too many days thinking about it, imagining how bad it could go. After he had closed the front door, she had not been able to wait any longer. She had to know.

Besides, she was happy that he had so blindly trusted her. When he had tried to look for a condom in his drawer, she had stopped him, explaining that she was on the pill, and he had agreed to go on without a word. That was what she loved about him. He knew her. He knew she would not jeopardize what they had. He trusted her and she could trust him completely.

Now, she just needed him to come back from the bathroom and show her _his_ way. Maybe she should go in there and get cleaned herself, too. She was making a mess on the bed.

And he was taking too long.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 15**

**_A.N. Another Warning!!! There's talk about sex in this section, not excessively graphic, but, still it helps the imagination a lot. If you are too young for this or you feel offended by this type of writing, please, stay away from this chapter. It is surprising how many people read in spite of the warning and then review to complain. So, please, again, strong T rating, almost M, for this section._**

**_One more thing. I researched every regulation that was available and I did not find anything against fraternization between WitSec inspectors. There's much about gift giving and receiving, fraternization with witnesses and their families and also with superior officers, but nothing as clear as in the military. So, for the purpose of this story, M&M are doing nothing wrong._**

Mary got up and suddenly felt uncomfortable. She had been in that room many times during Marshall's convalescence, from both the shot and the concussion, but now it felt different. The fact that he was still not there and that he had left so quietly made her uneasy. She saw one of his T-shirts neatly folded on top of the dresser and she grabbed it. She put it on and went to check on him.

She was prepared to greet him with a joke when something made her change her mind. She was not sure why, but there was an expression on Marshall's face that made her think he was in pain. He was standing in front of the mirror, with his eyes closed and both hands on the counter, as if he needed to hold on to it to avoid falling.

"You need to get out of those clothes," she said softly.

For a second she thought he would stop her when she started taking off his jacket, but he let her help him without a word. After taking care of the jacket, she gently turned him toward her to be able to unbutton his shirt. He opened his eyes and looked at her silently. The undershirt was off a few seconds later.

"Sit down there," she said pointing at a small stool. "I'll get your boots off."

"I can take it from here," he said, but his voice sounded weary.

"No, I'm doing this," she replied firmly.

He obeyed her and she carefully took his boots off and then his socks.

"Mar, I can take it from here," he repeated as she helped him stand up and tried to reach his belt.

"No," she said determinedly, but tenderly at the same time. "This has been a hard week and you need someone to take care of you. You're not totally recovered, you know?"

He looked at her hesitantly. That did not sound like Mary. It sounded like the Mary who comforted children or witnesses that were too scared to take care of themselves.

She was comforting him right before she told him that they were a complete failure as lovers. Okay; he was going to let her do what she wanted. It could not get worse.

He dropped his hands to his sides and she helped him take off his trousers. He was surprised that there was nothing sexual about her actions. He remembered how many times she had helped him with other menial tasks before he recovered, how many times he had helped her… It felt that way. Two friends helping each other.

Mary walked to the shower stall and turned on the water. She put her hand under the water until it felt at the right temperature. "Come here. You need this," she told him as she stretched her hand towards him.

She guided him under the water still in his underwear. Marshall closed his eyes and let the water fall on his face.

Mary walked into the shower a few seconds later. She was still wearing his shirt. She stood right in front of him and was surprised at how much taller he looked now that she was not wearing her heels. She raised a hand and softly caressed his cheek.

Marshall was taken aback by the tenderness of the caress and the depth of Mary's look. It felt as if she truly loved him. That was what he had always wanted from her. He did not understand why she was giving it to him now. It had to be pity, but he could not reject it. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch.

Mary felt the need to follow the contour of the muscles in his chest with her hand. He was so thin and, yet, she could clearly see his muscles outlined under his pale skin. She knew he worked out; it probably was part of most marshals' routine to keep in shape, but she had never seen his body under this light.

She closed her eyes for a second and lowered her head to breathe better under the water. She was feeling so many new sensations that it was almost scary. She wanted him, but it was a _deeply rooted desire_, different that what she had always felt for men. It was not lust. There was no immediate need, no urgency, no fire. She wanted to embrace him, hold him, touch him, caress him, kiss him, but softly, gently, without any hurry, drawing pleasure out of every second with him.

She raised her head and realized he was looking at her. She shook her head. "I don't know how to do this," she said and he understood immediately.

"Then let me," he said in a whisper and she nodded.

Marshall could not explain what had changed, but he could suddenly feel her desire. She wanted him, she truly wanted him. It was his turn to show her what _he_ wanted. And he probably would have only this chance to show her what he could give.

Around three in the morning, Mary looked at the bright numbers of the alarm clock on Marshall's nightstand. She could not believe it had been only three hours since they had gotten home. So many things had changed in such a short period of time that she was overwhelmed.

She was lying by Marshall's side, with her head on his chest and her arm around his waist.

"Are you sleeping?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"I'm enjoying having you by my side."

She smiled. "I think I get the five-sense thing now."

"You do? Good."

"You weren't talking about _my_ senses, were you? It was _your_ five senses."

"Yeah," he admitted.

"I think I discovered _I_ have _more _than five."

He chuckled. "That's very funny."

"Just tell me, how would you have explained it to me if we hadn't done it your way?"

"I would have said…" he took his time thinking the answer, "that I wanted to taste all the different flavors of your body; to feel every texture and every nook and cranny, to smell the perfume that emanates naturally from your skin, to watch you writhe in pleasure under me, and to hear you moan and say my name when you least expected it."

She closed her eyes to enjoy the memories. "Everybody always does what _I_ want. You're not like the rest of the men."

"I hope I'm not that different."

"You're different in what really matters." She sighed contentedly. "This whole evening has been unlike any other."

He tried to look at her in the dark. "For me, and for any man who has ever loved you, what makes the difference is you."

She smiled. It was nice that he said things like that about her. She was always very insecure, in spite of the image she projected publicly. _"I hope you know that I love you,"_ she said all of a sudden.

"What?" he asked surprised.

"You said that, when you made your toast, for my engagement with Raph."

"Ah, yes."

"You meant it."

"Of course I meant it."

"No; you meant you were_ in love_ with me."

He took a few seconds to reply. "Yes."

"Well,_ I hope you know that I love you, too,"_ she said.

Marshall raised his head to look at her, then turned on the light.

"I love you," she repeated looking straight at his eyes.

"You mean it," he said slowly, as if trying to convince himself.

She smiled. "Can I try the five senses myself?" she asked with a playful tone.

"I'm all yours," he replied.

She half-climbed on top of him and then asked, "You won't think this will change my opinion of you, will you? Because you're still the same doofus from this morning."

Marshall chuckled. It had to be a defense mechanism. She never really meant to hurt him; he had always known that. "I might be a doofus, but I will add a field to the catalog of my extensive knowledge," he said.

"What field would that be?"

"MaryShannonology," he said right before she kissed him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 16**

They did not sleep much that night. Getting to know each other in such a different way was not something they could rush into; they both took their time exploring and probing, trying to figure out ─and to commit to memory─ what the other enjoyed.

Naturally, they slept until almost midday on Friday, and when they finally made it to the kitchen to fix something to eat, they were still very tired.

Everything went well while Marshall cooked some pasta and Mary set the table. Mary kept the talk light and made jokes about some of the situations they had been involved in since becoming partners. Marshall could not keep himself too far from her. Their newly found closeness inebriated him; he did not want to lose the connection.

They ate mostly in silence and on different sides of the table. She was not fond of showing her affection while doing daily tasks and he understood it.

After they were done, they cleaned the table and Marshall did the dishes.

"I'm done," ha said as he put the last plate away. "What do you have in mind for the rest of the day?" he asked her with a smile, sure that they would spend the day together.

"I don't know," she replied. "I need to go home and change clothes and I suppose I need to do some grocery shopping. I don't think Brandi or my mom have taken care of that…"

"Have you thought about how we're going to explain this to Stan?" he suddenly changed the subject.

"Stan? Why? We don't need to explain anything to him," Mary said with a dismissive gesture.

"What do you mean? You'll just let him figure it out?" Marshall was surprised.

"He won't figure it out. It's not like we'll start kissing each other in front of him," she scoffed.

"Maybe he won't figure it out at the beginning, but the further we go in the relationship, we'll have to start making him aware so that he doesn't feel left out," Marshall said, feeling slightly bothered by Mary's attitude.

"It's not like we're going to get engaged or married," she said mockingly. "I'm not going _there_ again."

It took a few seconds for Marshall to take in the full meaning of Mary's words. That was exactly where he thought they would be headed sooner or later. He was not thinking of getting married the following week, but he definitely wanted to make it a serious permanent commitment.

"So, what kind of relationship is this one?" He asked as he made a gesture with his hand that tried to imply he was talking about both of them.

"I don't know yet," she answered raising her hands in a clear gesture of doubt. "We'll figure it out someday, but, for now, it's _our_ problem only. I'm not getting anyone else in this dance."

Marshall sighed at sat down on the closest chair. He was not sure he understood Mary correctly, but he did not like what he thought she meant.

"So, you want to hide our relationship… even from your family? We're not doing anything wrong."

"_Especially_ from my family. I certainly don't want Brandi trying to seduce you just because we're together."

"Do you really think of her that way?"

She made am expressive gesture of confirmation.

He was not really worried about what Mary thought of Brandi. He was just too shocked by her view of their relationship and he was struggling to make sense of any of it. "You _really_ don't think we could get married one day?" He risked. "Or you mean that it's still too early to talk about that? I don't know… I thought that, maybe, we could start a family before it's too late."

She looked at him as if he were speaking Martian. "Do you see _me_ having children?" She blurted out in her best sarcastic tone.

He _could_ see it; he hoped we _would_ see it, but the shock did not allow him to reply. He remained still, trying to get to the bottom of her thinking.

"Besides, I've already tried all that. I was married once and it was a disaster. Didn't last enough to buy a bed together… And the moment I agreed to get engaged with Raph, it all went straight to hell."

"I'm not Raph," he said almost pleadingly.

She scoffed. "You're the same kind of man. Honest, hard-working… a good person."

He was trying to decide if she meant it as a compliment or an insult, but that was not the main issue he needed to concentrate on. "Mary, I don't want to hide this. It makes me happy. I want to share it with my family and yours. With Stan and Eleanor…"

"I'm not telling _her_ anything… Have you lost your mind? We have something good here. Let it stay that way."

"At this point, we only have good sex. That's not-"

"Great sex, fabulous sex. Do not underestimate the sex," she said playfully, unable to grasp how hurt Marshall was by her words. "And we have all the other things we've always had. You're my best friend and you said I'm yours. We work together and we're good at what we do. Why ask for more? It sounds like a pretty good arrangement to me."

There it was. That expression again. "We're not an arrangement," he said sourly and she noticed for the first time that there was a problem. She was really surprised.

"What's going on?" she asked as she sat facing him. "It can't be such a big deal to keep this to ourselves."

"That's not the point," he said carefully.

"So what's the point? You have to tell me, because, honestly, I don't get it."

He was not sure he wanted to explain it to her. That was the main problem, that she did not see it as clearly as he saw it. That she did not want a commitment; that she did not want to have a future with him. Perhaps, that was why Raph had broken the engagement. Perhaps he should end it, too, before it went that far. He had been deluded to think that she would be different just because of him. And, if she were different, maybe he would not have fallen for her.

He made a big effort and softly said. "I want more."

She scoffed again. "Well, that's what's on the table and if you're too shortsighted to see how great it is, then you don't deserve it."

"Then, I don't want it at all," he said so seriously that she felt cold run through her spine.

"Fine," she said as she got up. "We're done here. See you on Monday, Mann," she finished with the coldest demeanor she could manage.

He did not answer. He just looked at her in disbelief.

Mary left the house with a slam of the door.

Marshall's eyes filled with tears, but he soon squashed those feelings. He was not going to sit there and feel sorry for himself. He had made a mistake, a huge one. Now he had to fix it and he knew exactly how. He would be ready by Monday.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 17**

After Mary left, Marshall went to his home office and started going through his papers. He had everything he needed there; he just had to put the paperwork in order.

He could not stop blaming himself for what had happened with Mary. It was clearly his fault, for many reasons. In the first place, he should have seen it coming. He had allowed his desire to have Mary for himself to blur his vision. He _knew_ Mary was afraid of commitment, because with commitment came the possibility of abandonment, and that was Mary's greatest fear. Since her father had left them so long ago, she had been avoiding situations that could put her in jeopardy; if there was any chance that anyone would leave her, she did it first. Just in case.

Marshall had misinterpreted Mary's engagement to Raph as a step forward. Perhaps she had accepted Raph simply because she knew he was too good a guy to simply abandon her. In spite of having broken their engagement, Raph had soon come back to her life as soon as she needed a friend.

Mary was wrong. Marshall was not her only friend.

In any case, it would have been better to let Mary keep things under wraps for a while, until she was more comfortable with their new _arrangement_, as she so infuriatingly called it. On the other hand, he thought that theirs was not a usual case. They had been very close for a long time and many would say that this was the natural progression of their relationship.

His mother had asked him about it. In spite of the intrusive presence of Shelley in the hospital, his mother had asked what was going on between Mary and him. He had feigned being surprised, but he knew his mother had not completely believed him.

Even Eleanor had thought they were together when she had seen that ring in his finger.

Now, it was too late. He had let things go too far. He had asked for the whole package at once and that had scared Mary away. It would take time for her to get out from the shell she had immediately created around her.

Besides, sleeping with Mary had been a bigger mistake, because from now on he would have a constant reminder of what he was missing. The second part of the night had allowed him to share a deep connection with her, beyond the physical facet, and he had thought that she had appreciated that. He was not so sure anymore, but he knew that every time he looked at her, he would remember something from that night and it would make his life miserable.

He had two options. He let things cool off and waited until Mary understood that what he wanted ─a family, a home with her─ was not so farfetched, even though he was pretty certain that she was not headed in that direction, or he set her free to find a simpler, easier kind of relationship that made her happy.

If he chose the second, he knew he would not be able to witness it. It would hurt too damn much.

By the time Mary got home, she was still furious at Marshall. He would have to deal with her on Monday. Who did he think he was to ask that kind of commitment from her? Children? Was he insane?

It was true that she had confessed that she loved him, but it was not as if she had professed her undying and eternal love for him. She just wanted to be happy and have fun. She did not need another Raph. She had thought Marshall would be fine with that. Boy… Had she been wrong.

She went to her bedroom, happy not to have found her mother or her sister on her way in.

She took a shower and changed into comfortable clothes. She sat on her bed and tried to read a book. She had not read half a page when her sister knocked and soon entered her room.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Hey. Eleanor, from your office, called last night. She said she had some kind of update for you, but your phone went straight to voice-mail. She wanted to make sure you checked it when you got here, but you didn't come…" she added with a mischievous smile. "You were with Marshall, weren't you?"

Mary worried about the call. She remembered turning her cell off before entering Marshall's house. She did not want to be interrupted.

She checked the message while Brandi was still waiting by the door. It was useful, but not urgent; otherwise Eleanor would have found her.

She put the phone down.

"So… Where were you? You always have your phone on. Did you spend the night at Marshall's? Because you obviously weren't at work…"

Mary felt the fury coming back.

"So what if I did? It wouldn't be the first time. I thought I already told you to back off and leave me alone."

Brandi acted as if she had not heard a word Mary had said. She came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed facing her. "Come on, tell me. I think this was different. You two have been acting strangely for the last couple of weeks… Did anything happen? Something _enjoyable_ perhaps? Something you're dying to talk about?"

"I'm not dying to talk about it," Mary replied impatiently and immediately noticed her error. "There's nothing to talk about."

It was too late. Brandi was squealing with happiness. "Oh, Mary! You have to tell me! I told you everything about Peter."

"You didn't tell me everything about Raph," Mary said with hidden resentment.

"Because there was nothing to tell. I already said it and I will repeat it forever. Nothing ever happened between Raph and me."

Mary replied with nothing but a mocking gesture of disbelief.

"And you're not going to make me forget about Marshall and you. Oh!!! How was it? Come on, Mary."

Mary was not sure she wanted to talk about it, but it was bothering her so much that the chance of having a conversation with Brandi seemed better than nothing. After all, Marshall was her best friend and she could not talk with him about it.

"Mary, come on. Tell me," Brandi pleaded again.

"It was fine," she said curtly.

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" Brandi was begging. "You can't do that! Tell me… You slept with Marshall and it was _fine_?"

"And it won't happen again," Mary added and grabbed her book back.

Brandi stopped smiling. Something was wrong. She was sure Mary and Marshall were in love with each other. Her mother agreed with her. Whatever had happened, it had not been fine. "So, it couldn't have been _fine_. Or maybe it was _just_ fine and-"

Mary put the book back down and interrupted her. "Okay. It was better than fine…" She looked down and Brandi felt sadness all around her. "It was great, okay? The best sex I've had in my life…" She sounded sincere. "But it's done. It won't happen again… Are you happy now?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 18**

Brandi looked at Mary for a few seconds. "What happened? She asked softly, all the enthusiasm from before completely gone.

Mary shook her head. "Forget it."

Brandi waited to see if she would add anything else, but Mary looked down at her book, although she did not try to read it. Brandi thought Mary _wanted_ to talk about it, but she was not sure how.

"Did you two fight?" She tried.

Mary sighed. Was she going to tell her sister what had happened with Marshall? Their relationship had improved in the last months, but she was not sure if Brandi was the right person to ask about relationships. Her record was pretty bad and she had noticed that things with Peter were not going so well.

"Listen, Squish. There's nothing you can do. We just shouldn't have gone there."

"But Marshall loves you," Brandi offered.

Mary looked at her. "He told you that?"

"No, but I'm not as stupid as everybody thinks I am. I can see things… At least sometimes," she smiled. "I like Marshall, he's a good guy, and I'm sure he loves you."

"Well, he may love me, but in a way I can't correspond." He tone became slightly mocking, "He wants a family and kids and all that crap and I can't go there. Okay?"

Brandi was about to reply when they heard a light knock on the door. "Mary, can I come in?" Jinx asked as she peeked inside the room.

Mary shrugged her shoulders and Jinx came into the room. She sat on the other side of the bed and cautiously said, "I'm not trying to pry in, Mary, but I was on my way to the kitchen and I just heard your last comment and-"

"Did you hear the rest?" Brandi asked.

Jinx looked at her surprised. "The rest? What rest?"

"Nothing important," Brandi tried to fix it as Mary looked at her with obvious irritation. "I was just telling her that I think Marshall cares a lot about her."

"Well, what I wanted to say," Jinx began, looking straight at Mary, "is that I think that it's not bad that Marshall might be thinking about having all those things. He's older than you and, perhaps, he wants to settle down. He doesn't have any close relatives around here and he must be pretty lonely. And, besides, you're always saying how proud he is about being a fifth generation marshal… Maybe he wants to start helping with the sixth generation. You said he only has two sisters, no brothers, so it's up to him to continue the Mann name."

"That's really a poor justification to want to start a family… and he's only _three years_ older than me," Mary stated contemptuously.

Jinx sighed. "If he loves you and wants to spend his life with you, he doesn't need any other reasons."

"Have you sought that maybe you're not the best qualified to give me advice about-"

Mary's hurtful comment was interrupted by Jinx as she got up and walked out of the room with tears in her eyes. "Fine. Feel free to make your own mistakes."

Mary's look made Brandi stand up, too. She shrugged her shoulders and got out of the bedroom. She had news for her mother.

Mary spent the weekend going over what had happened with Marshall. She could not forget the night they had spent together, but his attitude made her very mad. She was definitely going to have a conversation with him on Monday.

When she got to the office on Monday, she realized Marshall had already been there. She could not see him around, but there were papers on his desk that were not there when they had left on Thursday. She opened them to see what they were and realized he had added comments to the files of several of his more worrisome witnesses.

Stan interrupted her task as he came out of the office just to call her name in an irritated tone.

She went into his office ready for a fight.

"I thought I told you to fix things with Marshall when you left on Thursday. I even gave you an extra day," he started.

Mary seemed surprised. "What happened?"

"Well, Marshall accepted the request to teach a WitSec seminar this month. He's been asked many times, but he usually says no because we have too much work, but today he came in with all the paperwork done and he's leaving tomorrow morning. He'll be out of the office for two full weeks. Two full weeks!" He added in a louder voice. "Do you understand that? Do you know how many more hours we'll have to put because of this?"

"I'm sure we'll get someone while he's gone," Mary said.

"Of course we will. Marshal found a temporary replacement without even talking to me, but he's a damn rookie. We'll have to babysit him all the time." He sighed deeply, obviously aggravated. "Ah!" he forcefully dropped the folders he was holding in his hand onto his desk.

"And you think this is my fault because…?" Mary asked with her usual sarcastic tone, unmoved by his anger.

"Don't even," Stan almost yelled. "I know him well enough to see things like this. If you weren't the reason why he's leaving, he'd have stayed to see you today instead of going out to check on his witnesses two seconds after he left my office. There's something wrong between the two of you and you'd better fix it before he decides to teach another class or to leave us."

Mary left the office with a nod of her head. She should better not antagonize Stan more; he was clearly angry.

On her way to her desk, she caught Eleanor looking at her. As soon as she noticed Mary had seen her, she went back to reading the screen of her computer.

Mary sat at her desk to think. She needed to talk to Marshall before he left.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 19**

**_A.N. Warning for language and everything else; you know. Please, don't complain later if you read anyway, but leave me a word if you enjoyed._**

In spite of all her efforts, Mary was unable to find Marshall before he left Albuquerque. She even tried going to his house, but it was dark and empty. When she finally made it home, she was not only angry at him, but also disappointed. At Marshall, for not saying good-bye, at herself for not clearing the air before it was too late.

She spent the following days taking care of the new marshal, guiding him, helping him deal with Marshall's huge load of work. She suddenly realized how much of her own work ─especially paperwork─ Marshall did for her without even asking.

By the end of the week, her anger towards Marshall started diminishing and she started missing him, not at work ─she had done that since the very moment she met eager inspector Daly─ but outside from work, whenever she thought of what she would usually be doing with him if he were in town or whenever she needed just hearing his voice on the other side of the phone line.

By the end of the second week, she was miserable. She had even started considering the possibility of contemplating Marshall's proposal. Maybe she could work something out, some kind of compromise between what he wanted and what she was willing to give. If only that could bring him back.

When on Friday afternoon, right after taking care of her newest witness' accommodations, she saw Marshall's SUV parked in his spot as it used to be, she almost run up the stairs to the office.

As soon as she entered the office she saw Stan at his desk and Eleanor leaning toward him as they read some kind of document together. Stan saw Mary and pointed to the balcony with a movement of his head.

Mary took a deep breath and walked towards Marshall. She got out into the balcony and said, "Hey, knucklehead, you're not thinking of jumping, are you?"

Marshall turned to look at her and smiled. "Hey, Mar," he said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, standing close to him, but unable to hug him as she really wanted.

"Finding a new perspective," he replied and she immediately thought of Norman Baker.

"It's about time; your perspective is usually screwed," she said with a phony smile.

"I thought you were the expert on that matter."

"Screws or screwed up people?"

He just looked at her and she thought about her family for a second and said, "Don't answer that."

Marshall lowered his head.

"So, are you back on Monday?" Mary tried. "I don't have any interest on Mr. Daly becoming Mr. Monthly," she joked.

Marshall hesitated for a second and then said, "No, not really."

Mary was so stunned, she did not dare ask why.

"I agreed to teach one more seminar. It was really interesting to teach the first one and we couldn't accommodate everybody in, so-"

"And after that?" Mary asked trying to keep the panic away from her voice.

Marshall grimaced. "Don't ask me that. I don't know yet."

Mary felt a confusing mix of anger and fear. "You're kidding me, right? You can't be leaving your job here because you can't forget one freaking night. You can't tell me I'm the first woman you slept with and you haven't married anyone else that I know."

"I'm not trying to forget that night, Mary. I won't; I don't want to."

"So, why the hell are you trying to leave?"

"It's not _having a past_ with you that hurts; it's _not having a future_."

Mary looked at him as if she could not grasp the whole extent of his pain.

Marshall put both hands on her waist and pulled her close to him.

Stan, who had been feigning reading with Eleanor, raised his head. An office with all glass walls was not such a bad idea after all. Maybe he would get to the bottom of the problem.

"You're right," Marshall said. "You're not the first woman in my life, but you're the first one with whom I'd have liked to have that future together. Before, there was always a chance, a possibility that you'd understand what I felt and you'd share it, but now I know, and that makes staying by your side almost unbearable."

"Get over it," she said dryly, letting the anger win the battle against the fear.

"I'm trying, but I need to be away from you. I don't know for how long, but…" He sighed and brought her a little closer. "You have to understand, Mar, that I'm not trying to abandon you. I'm asking you to let me go, to allow me to let go of you."

She closed the little distance between them and kissed him. He opposed no resistance and kissed her back.

Stan stood up, shocked. Eleanor watched them too, but, more than surprised, she felt pleased.

"I should have seen it coming," Stan whispered. "He's been crazy about her for years."

"She loves him, too," Eleanor said with confidence.

Out in the balcony, Marshall and Mary ended their kiss.

"Okay," she whispered softly.

"Thank you," he replied.

He let her go and she walked backwards slowly. "I have to go. I promised Jinx I'd take her to her meeting... Will I see you before you leave?"

He gently shook his head.

She nodded in acknowledgment and left.

Stan and Eleanor saw her leave the office in astonishment.

A few seconds later, Marshall walked towards them "I'll call as soon as I make my final decision." He shook Stan's hand and patted Eleanor on her shoulder. "Thanks."

He was gone before either of them was out of their shock.

Later that night, he was packing his luggage for his trip when the bell rang.

He was surprised to see Mary at his door. He did not expect to see her. He knew her too well; he was sure that she would not change her mind so easily.

She hesitated a bit before starting, "You said you weren't trying to forget that night. I thought that two nights are better to remember than one."

He felt tempted to smile at her boldness. "You understand that I'll be gone by the time you wake up?"

"I'm not planning on sleeping."

He walked backwards and let her in. She was right; one or two nights together… the pain was the same.

All night long he felt a blend of pleasure and sadness.

He followed the slope of her spine with a fingertip. _Bye-bye._

He threaded his fingers in her hair. _Au revoir._

He kissed the nape of her neck trying to brand its softness in his memory. _Adiós. _

He caressed her face with the gentleness of a feather. _Farewell. _

He enjoyed the flavor of her kisses over and over again. _Auf wiedersehen__._

He allowed her hands to roam freely over his body. _Sayōnara. _

He closed his eyes to strengthen his awareness of her body against his. _Arrivederci. _

He left the lights on to record every detail of her pale skin. _Chau. _

He touched._ Adieu. _

He tasted. _До свидания._

He heard. _Addio._

He watched._ Ciao._

He sensed her delicate fragrance._ Adeus. _

And he promised himself that he would learn to live without her._ Hasta siempre, Mary. _

But, finally, as he had warned her, he was gone when she woke up. _Good-bye._


	20. Chapter 20

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 20**

**_A.N. Cece, I think you read my mind._**

Mary intuitively knew Marshall had already left when she woke up, but she stubbornly refused to open her eyes so as not to make it a certainty. She remained in bed for a long time, feeling as all the warmth from the other side faded completely away.

She was feeling strangely calm. Marshall was abandoning her, leaving her just like her father, but she did not blame him. She knew this time it was her fault.

For years, as a child, she had blamed herself for her father's disappearance; now she had figured out there were many factors behind it and none of them had anything to do with her.

Marshall's case was different. He would have never left if she had not taken him to her bed. Or taken herself to his bed… Whatever was more accurate. He had been clear; before that, as long as there was any hope that she would someday turn around and see him as a man she could love, he had been willing to stay by her side. She was sure that her engagement to Raph had shaken him, but he had not run away. He had stayed because somewhere in his heart he knew that Raph was not the right person for her, even before she realized it.

Now, she had not left room for doubt. She could be his lover, but nothing else. And that was what he could not deal with, even up to the point of not being able to be her friend as he used to. He had given her some hope that one day in the future he could learn to live with their new _arrangement_, but she was not sure if it would ever happen.

Why was it so hard for her to admit that she missed him, that she wanted him to stay with her forever? What made her so afraid of spending her life with a man like Marshall? He had every quality she had ever thought a good man should have and he understood every one of her jokes. He was handsome and tough and,,,

She covered her head with a pillow. She did not want to hear herself.

However, it was not entirely her fault. He could have kept their relationship secret for a while, until she got more comfortable with it. Maybe she would have slowly gotten to the point of accepting to marry him. But no, he just wanted to get out the door and yell it to the four winds.

Maybe he had reacted that way because she had laughed at the idea…

She sighed.

Why? Why? Why?

Was it the children? Raph had always talked about the two of them, but he had never brought up having children in their conversations. Mary knew he probably _wanted_ children, but as long as he avoided the subject, she did, too.

She was forty now, so there was not much wiggle room. Soon it would be extremely hard for her to have a child.

Why was she so afraid of it? Perhaps because it would change her life too drastically. Most days she ran into danger without thinking twice, but the responsibility of a child would stop her in her tracks. Maybe she would not be as good as she was at her job anymore.

It was even worse if she thought that Marshall risked his life as much as she did every week. What would happen to a child of theirs if they both died?

No, she was not difficult. She was practical and responsible.

She got up and went into the bathroom. Her eyes were swollen. She had cried the night before. She had actually cried when the reality of Marshall's good-bye had become too much to handle. She had hid her tears as best as she could, but she knew Marshall had noticed. He had softened his touch and strengthened his embrace. He had not said a word, though. He had respected her silence.

How could she have fallen asleep? She wanted so badly to be awake until the end, to see if there was any chance one look or maybe one word would make him change his mind, but she had failed. He was gone and, just as it had happened for the last two weeks, he would be unreachable. She had lost her last chance.

She was aware that there were ways to communicate with him; Stan probably knew exactly how, but the problem was that Marshall did not want to talk to her. He was trying to separate himself from her as much as he could.

Mary decided to take a shower and stayed under the water for a long while.

She got out of the water when she started feeling sick to the stomach. She realized that it was almost midday and she had not eaten anything since three in the afternoon the day before. She got dressed and walked to a small fast food place around the corner, where she had both, the lunch she regularly ordered when she came there with Marshall _and_ what _he_ would have ordered if he were there. She was really hungry for feeling so depressed.

After lunch she went back to his place, tried to clean the bedroom a bit ─goodness, she really was not good wife material─ and then sat in his sofa for a while, still feeling sick and certain that she had the stomach flu. She finally drove back to her house to see if she could find something that made her feel better.

Around five, her stomach flu had gotten worse and she had started throwing up.

Unable to reach Marshall, Brandi opted for calling Raph. Soon after, he drove Mary to the nearest ER, worried that she could still have sequelae from her recent injuries. One more time, they checked her thoroughly and made every test they thought it could help. When the doctor came back to talk to them, he explained he had found nothing wrong with her.

He was about to add something else, when Raph asked, "So, it can't be anything related to the injury she suffered a while ago?"

"No," the doctor reassured them. "I checked and the bullet did not hit the uterus. It looks fine."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mary asked.

"Well, I just think that your symptoms aren't connected to your injuries. They're simply symptoms of a normal pregnancy."

Before Raph could even react, Mary was back to her side, throwing up.

As soon as she recovered, she looked straight at the doctor. "Well, now I'm sure there's something really wrong with me, because I'm not pregnant."

The young man checked the chart he had in his hand one more time and calmly said, "Yes, you are."

"No way," she said defiantly and almost mocking him. "I'm on the pill."

The doctor thought for a few seconds. "And you haven't missed any lately?"

"I missed them right after I was shot, but, obviously, nothing was going on then, so-"

"Did you get a period after that?"

"Yeah."

"It says here that it started around the sixth of August, right?" he asked looking at the form she had filled with the nurse.

"But, I told you, after that I went back on the pill."

"Well, the pill is usually effective in 99.6 of the cases, but there's that little margin… And it also depends in the pill brand and-"

"I don't think so," Mary scoffed.

"There are other factors. Have you taken any antibiotics after you went back on the pill?"

Mary thought of all the medications she had taken in the last weeks. "I took penicillin for a pharyngitis in the week of the eighth."

"Hm… penicillin may make birth control pills less effective. It has only been found in a small group of cases, but that doesn't mean…" he looked at Mary. "In any case, it doesn't change the results of your tests. You _are_ pregnant. Probably since around the…" He took a few seconds to make the calculations, "around the twentieth. That would put you at the beginning of your fifth week."

Mary was stunned.

Raph was relieved. He had wanted to have children with Mary, but much had changed since those days. In the last weeks he had realized that he was much more comfortable with Brandi that he had ever been with Mary. They were two very different women, but he was sure that this time he had it right. Brandi had just broken up with Peter and Raph was waiting for an opportunity to see if the attraction was mutual. A baby with Mary would destroy all his plans. Though he would have accepted it and loved the baby and done the right thing, it was better that the baby was not his.

"You have to talk about this with your gynecologist, but I'd say that your due date is around the thirteenth of May," the doctor continued as he looked at a chart from his desk.

He gave Mary some advice and he finally sent her home. Mary did not speak a word. She just nodded to signal she understood everything he said.

Once she was in the car with Raph, she looked at him and said, "If you say a word of this to anyone, I'll take your head off."

Raph kept himself from smiling. At least, Mary was Mary again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 21**

**_A.N. It took me a while to decide whether to make Mary pregnant or not, but I could not think of any other scenario where she would go there voluntarily and I needed it for my story. I hope it is not too contrived._**

Raph took the keys out of the ignition. "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it with your family, let's talk about it now."

"Have you lost your mind? I'm not talking about this with anyone. Give me the keys."

She tried to grab them from his hand, but he stopped her. When she kept trying, he opened the door and got out of the car. Mary got out, too, and ran towards him. He held the keys above his head and she was unable to reach them.

"I've seen Marshall when he wants to keep something away from you. I'm 6'2" like him and you're 5'8". Even with those heels you won't get them."

"Fine," she said, giving up. "I'll walk."

He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. "Come on, Mary. You can't keep something this big all to yourself. You need someone to talk with and tonight you only have me."

She scoffed.

"Let's go back to the car."

To his surprise, she agreed. They sat inside the car and Raph was the first to talk.

"How do you feel?"

She was about to reply with sarcasm, but then she felt too tired for another fight. "Numb."

Raph sighed. Good; she was being truthful; she was not hiding her feelings.

"I heard what the doctor said about the dates. I know it's not mine. Do you want to talk about the father?"

"Nothing to talk about. Just a guy I met."

He sighed again. Not good; that was a lie.

"Mary, I may not know you completely, but one thing I know it's you're not the one-night-stand kind of woman."

"You're _so_ wrong."

"So what? Maybe you've done it before, but it's not your style. You get into relationships; you're faithful. You even married the first guy you ever had sex with."

"I was too young and I wanted to get out of that damn house."

"That's not the point. Besides, I was the one who told you to explore the feelings you had for Marshall… It's Marshall's, isn't it? He's the father."

Mary looked out the window, but did not deny it.

"So, do you want me to drive you to his house so that both can talk?"

She shook her head. "He's gone. He left Albuquerque."

"Definitely?"

"Looks like."

"Why? What did you do to him?" the questions came out before he could stop himself.

"Why would you think _I_ did anything to him?"

"I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have assumed… It's just that I was so sure that he loved you. I thought he'd killed himself before leaving you behind."

Mary looked out the window again. "I told him I'd never marry him or have his children."

He was stunned. "You guys already talked about that? _We_ didn't even get to the children's part."

"I kind of laughed at the idea right from the beginning," she conceded.

Raph could imagine how that would have affected Marshall. "You really meant it?"

"I don't know. I just didn't want everything to go to hell like it happened after you and I got engaged."

"That was different, Mary. We were wrong. We were not right for each other. It was good that it became clear before we got married."

She sighed deeply. "Yeah."

"So, are you going to call him? We can go to my apartment and you can call him from there; you'll have more privacy."

"No. I'm not calling him. He really doesn't want to hear from me."

"That's because you told him you wouldn't have his children, but now you _are_… having his child, I mean… in May."

She though about hitting him with something, but she was too tired. "I'm not calling him," she said defiantly.

"But he has the right to know."

"He has no freaking rights on this."

"He's the father, Mary. Of course he has a right. You'd have told me, right?" he suddenly was assaulted with the doubt. Had Mary ever gotten pregnant while they were together?

Mary read the fear in his face. "Relax. This is the first time ever the pill failed me."

She could clearly see that he was relieved to know it. "Call him," he said softly.

"I still haven't decided if he's going to be the father of anyone."

He realized what the implications of that sentence were. "You're not really thinking-"

"It's my body. I can do what I want."

"But the baby can't do anything if you decide to get rid of him."

"It's not even a baby yet. Just a bunch of multiplying cells. Stop calling him _the baby_."

"I know you really don't believe that, Mary, but let's say that you don't want to have Marshall's baby. You don't want to be a mother. What about him? What if he _does_ want to be a father? What about the baby? Doesn't he have the right to have a father like Marshall? Few guys as deserving as him…"

"What are you, Marshall's best buddy now?"

"We kind of bonded after you were shot."

She scoffed. "What's wrong with you people? First, he bonded with Bobby D. when I was kidnapped and then with you when I was shot? Does he have a sign? _Come bond with me, Mary's suffering_?"

"You won't change the subject so easily, Mary. Nobody is asking you to give your life for the baby, not even your career if that's what worries you the most. Forty weeks… Actually thirty-six. You didn't even notice and four have already passed. Lend your body for thirty-six more weeks. And Marshall and the baby can have each other."

"He'll still be my baby. I can't go around knowing that there's a child of mine that I don't even know. I'm not like my father. I wouldn't do to my child what he did to Brandi."

"Then, you _do_ want to be his mother… or her mother."

She looked at him as if he had suddenly grown another head. Then, she softened her posture. "You don't understand," she said with a defeated tone. "I can't call him and tell him that now that I'm pregnant I'm willing to take him back. He'll think I'm doing it because I don't want to be a single mother or that I want him to take responsibility for the kid, not because I love _him_."

"I'm sure that you want him to take responsibility, but that's quite a twisted argument, Mary. He'll just be flabbergasted with the news and I'm sure he knows you love him; he won't think any of those other things. Give him credit for not being that stupid."

"I just can't," she said looking the other way.

Raph looked at her. She needed help and he was going to help her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 22**

**_A.N. Thank you from the heart to all the reviewers. They push me to update sooner. Thanks again._**

Mary spent the weekend trying to sort through all the conflicting feelings and ideas that the news of the pregnancy had brought on. Her conversation with Raph had been long and had given her a different perspective on what was happening to her. Before taking her back home, Raph had made two clear points; he was not trying to make her do something she did not want to do; he wanted her to be sure before she did anything.

That was, besides insisting that she told Marshall.

By Sunday night, she had at least accepted a few facts. She made a mental list to reassure herself that she was making progress.

She wanted the baby; the idea of having a life inside of her gave her a kind of energy she did not think possible and the fact that it was in part Marshall's baby made it even more significant.

She did not want anyone to know about the baby. She did not want to hear anyone's opinion or advice. It was only her decision to make.

She was not ready to tell Marshall. She could not find a way to explain to him how she had betrayed his trust in her. She had been certain that she would not get pregnant and she had stopped him from using other measures to protect himself. She knew this was a fluke, a combination of factors that probably would not happen again, but she still did not want him to know.

She was willing to leave her job if she had to, to avoid people from finding out and telling Marshall. She surely had leave days available. She had to find a good reason to use them.

She was starting to understand why Marshall wanted to have a family.

She was terrified that she would not be a good mother.

She wished Marshall already knew and came back to fix the problem.

_Wait._ That did not sound like her. _She_ had to solve the problem…

But she missed Marshall so badly and she could imagine his face if she told him that she had his baby and he would light up and he would hug her and they would make love again, like the last time, but happier, and… and… and she was crazy.

He would be absolutely mad that she wanted him back just because he was the father of the baby. Would he even want to marry her after she had laughed at the idea? Did she want to marry him at all?

She sat up in bed and cried. She felt a lot like crying lately. What did they say about hormones during pregnancy?

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

When Stan entered his office on Monday morning, Eleanor was waiting for him.

"There was a message for you at the front desk," she said handing him out a small paper.

"From whom?"

"Rafael Ramírez, Mary's former-fiancé."

"This is just a phone number," he said looking at the paper.

"He said he'd be sitting at the corner café until nine. After that, you can call him at this number. He emphasized it was urgent."

"And he didn't wait for me here because…?"

"I don't think he wants Mary to see him."

Stan checked hid watch. "I can take fifteen minutes. I'll be back soon."

After ordering a coffee, Stan was ready to listen to Raph.

"What's this all about?"

"I need to talk to Inspector Mann," Raph explained.

"To Marshall? May I ask why?"

Raph seemed undecided about telling him, so Stan tried something different.

"Is it about Mary?"

"Yes."

"Is she in trouble?"

"Not exactly." He thought for a second, "It has to do with her family," he played with the truth.

"As in a _blood_ relative?" Stan asked.

Raph nodded. Yeah, the baby definitely had her blood.

"We aren't talking about her father, are we? Because in that case, you really need to tell me. He's a fugitive and-"

"It's not her father. Look, I'm already going against her wishes, but I think Marshall is the only one who can talk some sense into her."

Stan looked pensive. "I don't really know what's going on between those two, but, in any case, you know I can't tell you where Marshall is."

"Can't you give him my message, tell him to call me as soon as he can?"

"That I can do."

Raph nodded. "Thanks."

Ten minutes later, Stan was back in the office.

Mary was sitting at her desk. She looked tired and pale.

"Hey, Mary. We have a new witness on the way. I need Daly and you to get ready. I put all the info in the conference room."

Mary nodded and walked with her partner to read the information left by Stan.

Stan followed her with his eyes. Something big was going on.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Marshall got Stan's message at noon, but he found many excuses not to call Raph. Stan had emphasized in his message that Mary was alright, so he could not think of a reason for Raph to want to talk to him. A family problem? What could he do about that?

Finally, around nine in the evening, when, after a full day of work, he was able to go back to his hotel room, he forced himself to call the number.

He lay on the bed and turned on the TV. Then, he called Raph.

"Rafael? This is Marshall Mann. Stan said you needed to talk to me about Mary," he said when Raph answered.

"Yes, I do. Thank you for calling me."

"So, what's going on?"

Raph sighed loudly. "You see, I debated with myself all day yesterday, but I couldn't figure out any other solution, so-"

"Is Mary okay?" Marshall asked in spite of Stan's reassurances.

"Yes, she's fine. Well, she's Mary, so _fine_ is a way of saying. She's physically unhurt, let's say."

Marshall chuckled. Yeah, that was a way to see it.

"I know she's going to hate me for doing this, at least for a while ─until she comes to her senses─ but it's the right thing to do, so I'm not going to apologize."

"Okay. I'm listening," Marshall said, very intrigued by then.

"When was the last time you talked to Mary?" Raph asked.

Marshall thought about it. "Last Friday night."

"Okay. I was right. She hasn't called you during the weekend, has she?"

"No, no, she hasn't. Did anything happen during the weekend?"

"No… She just found out… She-"

Marshall guessed it was hard for Raph to tell him what he had to say.

"Mary's pregnant," Raph said and Marshall almost heard the relief in his voice as he said it.

Then it hit him. Mary was pregnant. He sat up in bed and his heart started racing.

"Before you ask, I'm not the father," Raph continued. "Mary and I haven't been together since before she was shot; there's no chance at all that it's me... And she hasn't exactly told me, but she hasn't denied it either, so I thought you-"

"Yes," Marshall said softly with a shaken voice.

"I thought so."

Raph allowed some time for Marshall to digest what he had just told him.

"Mary's going to kill you," Marshall finally said. "Why are you doing this?"

"I honestly think that it's the right thing to do and I wish to think that you'd do the same if the roles were reversed."

Marshall thought for a second how he would always side with Mary, but this was too big. He would have found a way to talk Mary into calling the father of her baby. "Yes," he said firmly.

"Besides, I'm not afraid of Mary." He chuckled. "Not that much. She wouldn't want to go to jail just for killing me," he said jokingly.

"There's that," Marshall acknowledged with a smile and then his tone became serious. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, but don't waste time. Mary's in over her head. I'm sure she's a great marshal and I know she's strong and can get herself out of anything, but this is different. She needs help."

After hanging up, Marshall lay back down on the bed. He was so shocked that he had trouble breathing. He stood up and got out to the balcony. He needed fresh air.

He immediately started working on a plan. He could not abandon his classes. He had made a commitment.

Nevertheless, Raph had said that he should not waste time; there had to be a reason and he had a pretty good idea of what it was. He felt pain just thinking about it.

He went back in and started making phone calls.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Monday was a bad day. A new witness with a myriad of problems kept Mary and Peter Daly busy all day. They both stayed late filling paperwork, so Mary called in sick on Tuesday morning and said she would be there by midday.

When she entered the office, the first thing she saw was Marshall sitting at her desk. Stan, Peter, and Eleanor were nowhere in sight.

She was filled with a kind of fear she had not experienced before. She was sure she was shaking.

"Hey," he said with a small smile.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back… And get the heck out of my desk."

He smiled. "Okay." He walked to his desk and leaned against the edge. "That's not the welcome I was expecting, but-"

"What do you mean _welcome_? Last Friday you told me I couldn't ask you if you were coming back because you didn't know," she started as she sat in her chair and put her feet on her desk. "I thought that meant you weren't."

"And you wouldn't be happy if I decided to stay?"

"Why would I? You make my life miserable. I thought you had become someone else's pain in the neck by now."

He did not reply. That was standard Mary. He needed to talk to the other side of Mary; the one she hid with all her roughness.

"Have you had lunch?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so, why don't we go have a cup of coffee and talk for a while? I have to go back to my seminar, but I have a couple of hours."

"Don't waste them on me then. Besides, I'm not into coffee lately."

_Because of the baby,_ Marshall thought with a little bit of hope that he was not too late. "What about if we walk to that German tea house down the street? You like the Apfelstrudel there."

The idea of an apple pastry sounded awfully tempting. "I don't think Stan would be happy if I left the office alone," she tried.

Marshall looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "I'm sure he won't have a problem and _since when do you care?_ Besides, Eleanor is in the bathroom. She spilled some soda on her dress and was trying to fix it. Here, let me tell her." He approached the bathroom door and yelled, "Eleanor, Mary and I are going out for a while. You're in charge."

"Okay," Eleanor answered from behind the door.

Marshall looked at Mary waiting for a decision.

"Fine, but I don't have much time," she said as she grabbed her handbag, "and you're paying."


	23. Chapter 23

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 23**

**_A.N. Wow. Thank you again for all the nice comments from the reviewers. This update is just a thank you._**

Marshall talked about trivial matters on their way to the tea house. He did not want to start a serious conversation until they were comfortably sitting there.

He was tired and anxious. He had not been able to sleep after Raph's call. Even after organizing his trip to Albuquerque, he had lay in bed thinking about the possibilities. He had felt torn between joy and fear.

He was exhilarated by the idea of having a child with Mary. For a long time he had hoped that it would happen one day, but the certainty of the baby already in her womb thrilled him. He was surprised at how much he wanted the baby and everything he was willing to do for him ─or her─ including raising him on his own if necessary.

On the other hand, he would always respect what Mary decided. He would give her support and encouragement to keep the baby, but if she decided the opposite, he would have to respect her decision. His mother had spent a long time trying to inculcate in him the notion that his moral code was his to live by, but that he could not judge others for not following it. It had been one of the hardest lessons to learn, but he honored it as much as he could.

That did not mean that it would not hurt or that he could keep on being Mary's friend the same way as before. Everything had already changed before the baby and he had been blaming himself for that change. If he had not expected so much from her, maybe she would have been willing to give a bit more over time.

For the past weeks, he had been trying to get over the fact that Mary did not love him enough to share her life with him. If he learned to live with that, he would be able to go back to the Albuquerque office and, at least, regain his job. He missed Mary, but he also missed Stan and Eleanor, and, very strongly, his job.

Now he had to listen to her and the decisions would come later.

After the waitress brought their tea and pastries, Marshall decided it was time to talk.

"So, how's everything going?" he started.

Mary looked at him. "What are you really doing here, Marshall? You didn't fly all the way from Georgia just to have an Apfelstrudel."

"I needed some books from my house," Marshall lied.

"And you couldn't call one of us and ask us to mail them to you?"

"I wasn't sure what would help me better. I had to look for myself."

"Aha," she said, clearly doubting his pretext.

Marshall sighed. "You still haven't told me how you're doing."

"I'm fine. Just great, Can't you see?"

"You look tired."

"Of course I do, numbnuts, and it's only your fault. While you're having fun playing the hot professor, I'm stuck here with the new kid on the block."

Marshall tried a smile, but he was not getting anywhere near the baby subject and he was feeling frustrated. "I miss you there," he said softly, hoping that a sincere approach would open a more serious line of conversation.

"Well, then come back," she said without hesitation.

"Would you change your mind if I came back? I don't mean that you'd want to marry me, but maybe give me a little hope for the future? Or you don't miss me at all?"

"Sure I miss you. Daly doesn't want to do any of my paperwork."

Marshall just stared at her for a few seconds, unable to figure out why she could not take him seriously. She had not answered any of his three questions, She was just playing.

"Stop looking at me like that. It's like you're trying to read my mind. It's kind of creepy if you ask me."

He nodded and looked down at his plate. He tried his first bite of pastry.

Mary watched him eat slowly, as if he were afraid of being poisoned. The idea of telling him about the baby was constantly gnawing at her, but she could not figure out how to introduce such a subject. Diplomacy had never been her strong suit. She could not just say, "_Hey, by the way, we're having a baby in May._"

Perhaps it would be easier writing him a letter or leaving him a message on his answering machine. Or she could wait until it was physically evident and let him reach his own conclusions.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She had become a total coward.

Marshall caught her gesture and misinterpreted as guilt. He had started thinking that the only reason she was avoiding the matter of the baby was because there was no more baby to talk about. Her attitude was only helping his presumption.

He suddenly felt sick. He excused himself and went to the restroom to throw up.

Mary watched him walk away. He looked sad and lonely. She wanted to hug him, to take him home with her, but she still could not find a way to reconcile that with her feelings against any form of commitment. He wanted too much. She had tried that, but she had gone too far with Raph. She was not doing that again.

After Marshall came back from the restroom, he was ready to give up. He decided to try one more thing.

"I just remembered that I have bottle of whiskey in my locker. I bought it to replace the one I took from your desk. You should get it,"

"Then I'll be toasting for you tonight," she told him with a smile and rising her cup of tea.

Marshall saw that as a confirmation of all his fears. Even Mary would not be as careless as to drink whiskey if she was pregnant.

He said he had to get ready for his flight and a few minutes later they were back at the federal building.

"Are you coming up?" she asked him.

"No, I have to go," he replied and to Mary it almost sounded desperate.

He walked with her to the elevator and kissed her forehead before saying good-bye. It was a very tender gesture and it surprised Mary. It felt as if the good-bye was somehow more final than before.

The elevator doors started closing and Mary watched him walk towards the front door. Just before the doors completely closed, she caught a glimpse of Marshall throwing a package in the trashcan by the exit.

She pressed the button to open the doors and walked to the trashcan trying to avoid being noticed. She looked inside and saw a small package wrapped in a light yellow paper. She took it out and walked back to the elevator. She waited until she was back inside the car and opened the package.

Her heart almost stopped when she realized it was a pair of tiny baby booties.

_Marshall knew_**.** He had been waiting for her to tell him and she had failed him.

She frantically pushed buttons until she got the elevator back to the ground floor. She ran out into the parking lot, but Marshall's SUV was gone.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 24**

**_A.N. I have very little chance to write this week, but we are close to the end, so I wanted to advance a bit more in the story. Thank you to all those who reviewed in spite of the story not having any explicit sex. The comments help me very much when creating the next part. Warning for language._**

When Mary reached the office, Stan was waiting for her.

"Is Marshall coming up?"

"No. He said he had to catch the plane back."

Stan nodded slowly. "Okay. Listen, Mary. Come to my office for a minute."

Mary followed him hoping it would not take long. She had to find a way to talk to Marshall before he left town.

Once in his office, Stan asked her to sit down.

"I thought I'd get a chance to talk to both of you at the same time, but I missed Marshall again, so I'm going to talk to you."

"Okay," she answered trying to minimize the length of the talk.

"I'm not going to try and sugarcoat this. It's hurting this office that Marshall has taken all this time out. You two have one of the best records of the Service and I want to keep it that way. It's certainly not your fault and Mr. Daly's still learning, but _Marshall and you_ had it down to a science and I want that back."

"Then why are you asking me? Why don't you talk to Marshall and tell him to get his ass back here-"

"Don't!" he interrupted her. "Don't even try that. There's something going on between the two of you and that's what's keeping him in Georgia. Now he's even thinking about leaving the Service and-"

Mary was shocked. Marshall had not told her that. "It wouldn't be the first time," she said, almost thinking out loud.

"What? When did he think about that before?"

"Around the time when he got shot."

"_After_ he was shot?"

"Nope. _Before_; but I fixed it."

Stan seemed surprised. "Well, fix it again, because this time it all points to you. Don't think I didn't catch that kiss you gave him in the balcony," Mary opened her mouth to complain, but he stopped her with a gesture, "and I've known for ages that he's fallen hard for you, so whatever it is that's going on, you bring him back and get this office back to where it was. I don't care if you're sleeping together," he thought guiltily about Eleanor and himself, "or if you want to get married and have a dozen children. As long as you're not fraternizing with any of the witnesses or their families, you're not breaking the rules, so I'm not going to say a word. However, if it disrupts the operation of this office again, you'll regret it. You have almost ten days until he's done with his teaching. Make sure he's back by then."

He left no place for argument. Mary left the office and started trying to reach Marshall. She could not believe that Stan had known about Marshall's feelings and said nothing. How many other people knew?

It was impossible to find Marshall. First, she could not talk to him because he was flying and, then, all the calls went to his voicemail.

By the end of the afternoon, she was almost as furious as Stan. Instead of driving home, she went straight to Raph's apartment.

Rafael opened the door unaware of who was ringing the bell.

"You!" Mary said in lieu of hello as she pointed to him. "You!" she said again and this time she pushed him hard with her hand on his chest.

Raph was not ready for her and fell backwards on the floor.

"I can't believe you told him! What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled as she walked past him.

Raph stood up and closed the door. "Mary," he tried.

"Just tell me, who the hell do you think you are? Who gave you the right to tell Marshall about the baby?"

"Mary, listen to me," he said calmly as he tried to make her sit down.

"Don't Mary me! You had no right!"

"Sit down, Mary," he said rising his voice a little. "If you want to talk, we'll do it like civilized people."

"Civilized people don't tell their friends' secrets!"

He sat down and smiled gently. "Okay, if you don't want to sit down, I'll do it. At least, you won't be able to push me again."

"Do you think this is a joke?"

"No. I think this is very serious and that's how I treated it."

"Then, what are you smiling about?"

"You just called me your friend. I like that."

Mary sighed and sat heavily on the sofa. "I don't get it. Why did you tell him?" she asked in a softer tone.

"Just because we're not getting married anymore, it doesn't mean that I don't love you, Mary, that I don't care about you. You've been through some pretty heavy stuff in the last year. If you leave out relationship aside ─the proposal, the rejection, my mother, the engagement, the break-up, just to name a few things─ you still had your mother and her alcoholism, your sister and the drugs, the FBI destroying your new house, the kidnapping, almost being raped, being shot, Marshall being shot and then hurt by a bomb explosion…" He paused, "It even sounds scary when you say it… And now you're pregnant with your best friend's baby. I just thought you needed help. I know you, Mary. I know you wanted him to know and I also know that you couldn't figure out how to tell him, so I just helped you a little."

Now that she heard him say it, it did not sound as bad as all the rest that had happened to her lately. It was actually good that Marshall knew. "You should have told me before I saw him," she said with a sigh.

"You've already talked to him?"

"He was here today, but it didn't go well. I didn't know he knew and I couldn't find a way to talk about it. I think he got the wrong idea."

Raph shook his head. "I'm sorry. I was going to talk to you. I didn't think he'd react so fast."

Mary stood up. "I have to go."

"Listen, Mary," Raph said as he walked her to the door. "Do you want me to talk to him again? I can clear this up with him. You can both have a conversation after that."

"No; I'll fix it." She looked at him. "Thanks."

Raph grabbed her hands and gave them a little kiss. "Just hang in there. It's going to get better. Call if you need help."

She nodded and left. She was too tired and she needed to have some sleep.

When she got to the office the next morning, she was ready to start looking for Marshall again. She was not ready to see Shelley Finkle sitting in her chair.

"This has become an epidemic. What are you doing in my chair?" Mary greeted her.

"Your boss gave me permission to take you out for a coffee."

"Take me out? What am I? The family dog?"

"Come on, Mary," Shelley said as she walked her back to the elevator. "Let's get out of here."

Mary remained silent until they were outside the building. "So, how are _you_ doing?" she asked.

"We're here to talk about you and you know it, Mary. Your boss is worried about you."

"We're just walking down the street. I didn't think it would be a great deal to ask you how you're doing."

"I'm doing fine, thanks."

"Are you seeing someone?" Mary asked casually and Shelley immediately knew what she wanted to know.

"Not too subtle, eh? As always… Well, if you need to know, I'm back with my boyfriend. Happy now?"

"Sure," Mary said playing innocent.

They reached a coffee shop and Shelley opened the door. "Here it would be fine."

They sat in a corner and Shelley ordered a cappuccino.

"Water is fine," Mary said and Shelley looked at her. That was some kind of sign. Mary was usually attached to some coffee related beverage.

"Are you okay?"

"Great! Why?"

"Well. Let's see." She opened a file and read a few lines in different papers. "According to this, you shouldn't be doing so fine. Too much has happened lately."

"We already had a talk after Marshall was blown out of that house. What else do you need?"

"I don't know…" Shelley said looking at Mary. "What's going on with your family life?"

"My mother isn't drinking anymore… by now at least; my sister is back in college, but she just broke up with her boyfriend…"

"And you?"

"I did, too," Mary said casually.

"You did, too, what? You broke-up with your fiancé?"

"Yep. Actually, he broke-up with me, but same difference, yeah?"

"And how are you feeling about it?"

"Fine." She made an expressive gesture. "I think he was right."

"Are you still talking to him?"

"Yep. Yesterday I called him _my friend_." She scoffed. "Who would have thought?"

"Wow. That's excellent."

"Sure."

"So, what's wrong? Your life finally seems to be stabilizing. Why is Mr. McQueen so worried?"

Mary smiled. "He's very perceptive," she said and Shelley heard the critic to herself in that statement.

"Well, he must be, because you look fine to me. You look great, actually," she said looking at her more carefully. "You seem… happy."

"I'm pregnant," Mary said with a smile and without warning and Shelley almost dropped her cup of coffee.

"Wow!"

"What? You're not going to congratulate me?" she asked with a wider smile.

"Oh, well… To congratulate you would imply assuming you share my own personal feelings about pregnancy. First, I need to know if you think that's a reason for me to congratulate you."

Mary heard Shelley's reasoning and smiled. It sounded like something Marshall would have said. Then she remembered that morning in the diner when she had asked him to congratulate her for her engagement to Raph and he had hugged her tightly. It all had a completely different meaning now. "Yes, it's a very good reason to congratulate me."

"Congratulations, then!" Shelley said cheerfully as she raised her cup for a toast. "You haven't told your boss yet, have you?"

"I haven't told the father," Mary deadpanned.

Shelley became serious. "Is that what's worrying you?"

"Among other things… but don't worry. I have a friend who was kind enough to tell him," she said with heavy sarcasm.

Shelley immediately deduced that Marshall had told Raph and that was why they were at odds. Stan had not given her many details about the situation, except for Marshall being out of the office.

"Why didn't you tell him yourself?"

Mary sighed. "The truth, I don't know."

"Does he want to have the baby?"

"He wants to have _many _babies. He wants to get married and all that."

"And you don't?"

Mary thought for a few seconds. "I can't seem to be able to think of any examples of marriages gone right," she finally said, "but I can't tell you about many marriages gone wrong… right to hell, let's say."

Shelley did not know much about Mary's family and friends, so she could only come up with one example. "Marshall's parents seem to have done right, don't they? He's only said nice things about them."

Mary was surprised. Marshall did not talk much about his parents with her. "I wouldn't know," she replied.

Shelly nodded. "Okay. So, you're throwing away your chance just because it could fail? You don't trust that the father of your baby would try his best effort to make it work?"

Mary conceded with a gesture of her head. "Yes, he would."

"So, maybe it's you who's not willing to make that effort?"

"I don't know if I'm equipped for marriage."

Shelley thought that was a telling expression. "Because of your family history?"

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't you at least give the father ─let's call him _X_─ shouldn't you give X a chance to prove himself?"

"Let's call him _M_," Mary said expressively and suddenly all the problems became clear to Shelley.

"_M_ has been in love with you for a long time," she said softly.

"How would you know?"

"It's my job to notice that kind of thing. I also got _M_ to admit it."

"Wow, you're good," Mary said sarcastically. "It looks like I was the only one who didn't know."

"Give him a chance, Mary. He deserves it."

"And what do _I_ deserve?"

"You certainly deserve someone like him. Many women would like to be in your shoes."

"I don't see many women clawing their way to him," Mary said with a mocking tone.

"I've had many talks with him after the last incident," Shelley said alluding to the bomb. "And I've read his whole file. I wouldn't let this chance go by; someone could try to snatch him… Georgia isn't a good place for him to stay…"

"What do you mean?" Mary asked.

"I've told you too much, because I care about both of you. Just stop sabotaging your own life. Go look for him."


	25. Chapter 25

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 25**

**_A.N. Warning for language._**

The rest of the day was too hectic for Mary to think about what Shelley had told her. A new witness with a very bad attitude kept her busy and Daly's help was not enough. She suddenly missed Marshall as her partner more than she had missed him until then. There were too many things she had taken for granted and that afternoon it all seemed to conspire to make his absence more noticeable. And painful…

She went home late, exhausted, and feeling sick. After opening the front door, she was surprised to see Raph having dinner with Jinx and Brandi. She made her ritual sarcastic commentary on the situation and walked hastily to her room, feeling the nausea growing.

Raph noticed her discomfort and excused himself from the table to check on her. When he did not immediately come back, Brandi got curious and went to see what was happening. Jinx followed.

Mary's door was ajar and it allowed them to see a small portion of the room.

"You don't need to hold my forehead up every time I throw up, you know? It's not your fault," Mary was telling Raph. She sat on the edge of her bed and lowered her head between her legs.

"As long as I'm around, I don't mind," Raph replied and softly stroke her back. "Any better?"

"Yeah," she said and started raising her head.

"Slow, okay, or you'll get dizzy again."

Mary scoffed, but followed his advice.

Brandi and Jinx stayed behind the door, unsure of what to do, but too curious about the conversation to leave.

"Why don't you lie down for a while? I'll bring you food later if you're hungry."

"I don't think I'll be able to eat ever again."

"You need to eat. Maybe some soup."

Mary shook her head and lay down on the bed.

"Did you talk to Marshall?"

"No; he's still out of town."

"You need to talk soon. You can't tell your boss until you do."

"Why do I need to tell Stan anything? There's no hurry."

"It would help if he knew why you're getting sick so often. He could cut you some slack."

"I don't need any preferential treatment just because I'm pregnant. I still can do my job perfectly well."

Jinx felt as if she had been slapped. She pushed Brandi aside and opened the door.

"Mary! Are you pregnant?" she asked in an overly concerned tone.

Mary opened her eyes, looked at her, sighed, and closed her eyes with impatience.

"So what? It's not like I'm dying or something. And what were you doing there? Are you listening behind the doors now?"

"I was just coming to see if you were feeling okay," she lied. "But that's not the point." She looked at Raph, "And you, what are you waiting to marry my daughter?"

Raph was taken by surprise. "Me? What?"

Jinx was about to reply when Brandi interrupted her. "He's not the father, mom," she said with a little smile.

Raph shook his head confirming her assertion.

"Then who?" Jinx asked before she realized. "Oh!"

"Yeah, _oh_, mom… It's Marshall. I'm sure Brandi told you all about that, so don't act so surprised," Mary said without opening her eyes.

"And what is _he_ doing about it?"

"That's something Marshall and I are going to decide, so," she sat in bed, "please, now I need to rest for a while, because I'm feeling like crap," she finished with a smirk and signaling for them to get out of the room.

Raph made sure they left and turned off the lights.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

He avoided the pillow Mary threw at him and closed the door.

**…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...**

Thursday was not an easy day for Mary either. It started with her mother following her around the house with questions about her pregnancy, Marshall, and the future that she had to work hard to avoid answering.

Then, finding a place to live for their unhappy witness took most of the rest of the day and by the time Mary got back to the office ─after sending Daly to buy groceries for the witness─ it was almost time to leave. Determined to do something about Marshall, she asked Eleanor for help.

"Hey, Stan wants me to talk to Marshall about his plans," she started, "but I can't find a way to figure out where he's staying. I've tried calling him, but he's not picking up his messages and there's no official record of his residence. Do you think you can do some of your magic and give me an address? I'll fly there tomorrow evening."

Eleanor looked at her with distrust. "You must have done something very big for the boss to send you out there."

"I'm just the best suited for the job," Mary said playing innocent. "I'm his _best_ friend," she added with a smug smile.

"That's why you make his life miserable _better_ than anyone else," Eleanor replied as she walked toward her desk.

"You'd know more than anyone about making others miserable, wouldn't you?" Mary retorted.

"At least I will spend my weekend comfortably at home."

"Children, please," Stan interrupted their bantering. "It's late and I want to be done. Some silence would go a long way…" He looked at them with a warning in his eyes and they both went back to work.

Stan smiled and went back to his desk.

Before Mary left for the day, Eleanor said, "I'll have everything ready tomorrow morning, including your tickets."

Mary nodded in approval and left the office with a very difficult to hear "Thanks."

Friday morning, Eleanor greeted Mary with a folder in her hand.

"Here's the address of the hotel he's staying in," she showed her a note inside the folder, "here are your tickets, and here's the rental form for the car you'll use. I added directions, but I believe the car has GPS."

"Thanks," Mary said, this time clearly and looking at her.

Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "It's nothing… Just bring the boy home."

They had been back at their desks for a few minutes when Eleanor stood up, all flustered, and yelled, "Stan!" Then, she corrected herself. "Boss! Mary, look!"

Stan came out of his office and Mary walked with him to her desk.

"There's a bulletin from Georgia," Eleanor explained. "A marshal was attacked early this morning. It says that he was getting ready to teach a class for the Marshal Service, when a woman tried to stab him."

Stan gave the article a quick look and ran back to his office to make a phone call.

Mary kept reading. Eleanor printed the bulletin and brought it to her.

"It doesn't give a name."

"Wait. It says that he had a restraining order against her from six years ago…" Mary read. "She used to be in the Witness Protection Program…" she looked at Eleanor. "It can't be Marshall," she said and felt more relaxed. "All his witnesses love him," she added.

"He's fine," Stan announced coming out of the office with a smile. "He struggled with her, but he's fine. Looks like just a scrape. He taught his class as if nothing had happened, so you can stop worrying."

Mary looked at him with disbelief. "It was Marshall? You're serious? You talked to him?"

"Yes, I talked to him and he said everything was okay."

"Who was the woman?" Mary asked.

"It says here," Eleanor read. "She used to be a defense lawyer until she witnessed when one of her clients killed her partner. It also says that the marshal she attacked was the one in charge of her when she entered the program. She was twenty-nine by then, so she must be thirty-five now." She looked at the second page. "Oh… She's pretty; she looks even younger."

Mary grabbed the paper. "Let me see." She looked at the arrest picture and then read a few more paragraphs of the bulletin. "They had tried to relocate her because she went crazy when Marshall rejected her. She stalked him…" She read a bit more. "Oh… Now it makes sense. That's why he asked for a transfer here. She wouldn't quit."

Stan had remained quiet and Mary thought that was strange. She looked at him.

"You knew it was him. As soon as you saw the bulletin you knew it was him."

Stan shrugged. "Well, I told him not to go there. He said he wouldn't live his life in fear of her. The only reason he asked for a transfer here to begin with was because the whole mess was disrupting the normal work of the office there. It was putting many marshals at risk. After she opted out of the program to avoid relocation, there was nothing else they could do."

"He never said a word about this," Mary said.

"Why would he want to talk about a woman who went crazy because he didn't love her back?" Stan asked.

"What guy _wouldn't_?" Mary asked in turn.

"Marshall," Eleanor said with a sigh. "At least he's okay and now they have a good reason to put her away. She won't be a problem again. What I can't believe is that she was still waiting for him after all these years."

Stan and Eleanor discussed the event for a while longer. Mary sat at her desk and thought about it. Perhaps that was what Shelley was talking about. That was a woman that would have probably loved to be in her shoes.

In any case, she was going to see him soon and they would have a chance to talk about the incident… after she dared talk about the rest.

**_A.N. There's a big surprise coming for Mary in the next part, but I have written two different endings and I am having a hard time deciding which one to choose. Please, if you have a minute, let me know if you think it would be more in character for this to end well or badly. If you do not want to review or feel uncomfortable using that format, use the message format. That way it will not appear as a review. I am not counting them. I just enjoy them._**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 26**

**_A.N. I posted this section yesterday and I am surprised by some messages I received after that. I did not think it was so out of character; it seemed logical to me. Well, read it and then we can agree to disagree._**

Mary drove into the parking lot of Marshall's hotel and was surprised when a policeman signaled for her to pull over. He was armed and she grew worried. Before he got closer, she took out her badge to show it to him as soon as he approached her.

"Good evening, Ma'am," he greeted her. He looked at the badge and added, "U.S. Marshal, eh?"

"Yes. I came to see my partner. He's staying at this hotel."

"Marshal Miller, right?"

"Yes," Mary answered, surprised by the use of Marshall's cover name.

"I thought his partner was with him. Let me check, please." He moved to the end of the car and called someone on his radio. "Your name, Ma'am?" he asked a few seconds later.

"Mary Shepherd," she answered, avoiding using her real name.

The policeman talked again with the other person on the radio and then signaled for Mary to move forward.

"Room 246, Ma'am. Have a good evening."

Mary drove until she was close to the room and parked. She was curious. What had the policeman meant when he said his partner was with him? Stan had not left the office by the time she boarded the plane.

And why was there a policeman checking cars in the parking lot of a hotel? That was a new one.

She got out of the car. A light rain was falling and she felt cold. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and looked for Marshall's room. She found it and knocked at the door.

Marshall opened the door wearing his pajamas with little planes and a blue t-shirt.

"Hello…" he said, surprised to see Mary.

"Do you know that there's a policeman checking the cars at the entrance?" she asked as she walked past him into the room.

"Yeah," he said and closed the door. "The lady who attacked me this morning is out on bail. They just thought it would be better to keep an eye on me."

He had not moved from the door and Mary started to feel suspicious. She swiftly looked around. She was in a small room that looked like a living-room. There was a door to the left that probably led to the bedroom area and behind her there seemed to be a dining area. "So, what are you doing?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing? Stan didn't tell me you were coming."

"Well, he sent me, so he should have told you."

"Okay… Well, we were having dinner. Maybe you'd like to join us," he said as he pointed toward the table to the right.

Mary turned to see why he was using _we_ instead of _I_. She was about to ask when the bedroom door opened and a tall brunette came into the room.

"Wow, that is some bathroom!" she said with a smile without noticing Mary. "They're spoiling you rotten, Marsh," she finished. A second later, she noticed Mary and she smiled in surprise.

"This is Mary Shannon, my partner in Albuquerque," he introduced her. "Mary, this is Alicia Parker, my partner in Georgia," he added looking at Mary.

Alicia walked to her and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. Marsh talks about you all the time."

Mary nodded with a smile that was not very heartfelt. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Come, sit. I just brought some rotisserie chicken and roasted potatoes. We didn't want Marsh to get out until that woman is back in jail."

"I told you I'm not going to stop my life again because of her," Marshall complained.

"Come on, sit down; the chicken is getting cold." Alicia signaled for both of them to join her at the table.

Marshall waited for Mary to sit and then joined them. Mary could not stop looking at Alicia. She was tall; a lot taller than her. She was thin and had an enviable figure.

Her hair was long and straight like Mary's, but it was very dark, almost black.

She had a face that made Mary think that she would always look like a young woman, even when she reached her sixties. Mary was sure she was probably close to forty years old, but she had something that made her look fresh, untouched.

Her voice was soft, soothing, and even her clothes looked nice. She was wearing a simple pair of pants and a blouse, but they looked elegant and stylish.

Wow… That was some competition.

She tried to stop looking at Alicia. Marshall had noticed she was staring and was looking at her with worried eyes.

She concentrated on the chicken. It looked golden and smelled delicious. Alicia had cut a generous potion and was offering a plate to her.

Mary thanked her and started eating. She was hungry.

"I like to eat this kind of chicken with my hands," Alicia excused herself the first time she pulled a piece of her meal with her fingers and ate it. "It's easier and it reminds me of the family picnics of my childhood."

_Of course she had a great childhood and idyllic picnics with her family_, Mary imagined.

Then, Alicia picked a piece of chicken and fed it to Marshall. She turned to Mary and explained, "He has a cut in the right hand; it's not too bad, but I'm sure it'll hurt to try using a knife."

Mary noticed the bandage in Marshall's hand for the first time. She had been so enthralled by Marshall's new partner, that she had missed that detail.

She smirked, trying to look understanding.

Alicia was now talking about a multitude of things. The weather changes; the difference between Mountain Time and Eastern Time, Georgia's most traditional dishes, and many other subjects were part of her conversation.

Marshall followed her dilettantish ramblings like a well trained dog, Mary thought.

"I didn't know you were _working_ here," she suddenly said and Alicia and Marshall looked at her like she had suddenly appeared at the table.

"I'm not. I'm just teaching," he said.

"Then, you're his _teaching_ partner?" Mary asked looking at Alicia.

"Oh, no," she replied with a wide smile. "I was his partner _before_ he transferred to New Mexico. I've known Marsh forever." She turned to look at Marshall with dreamy eyes. "He graduated two years ahead of me and he's always been my role-model," Alicia said enthusiastically as she grabbed Marshall's left hand.

"You've always been prone to exaggeration," he countered with a smile and squeezing her hand.

Mary thought she could throw up even if she did not have morning sickness. And _what about that?_ Why call it _morning_ sickness if it never went away? _Follow-you-around-all-day _sickness sounded more appropriate.

She sighed. She had to get out of there.

"Well, I'm sorry to eat and run, but it's been a very long day and we have work to do in the morning. Stan sent a mountain of paperwork you have to fill," she said as she stood by the table, looking at Marshall. "I'll be in my room, downstairs. I'll see you in the morning." She turned to Alicia. "A pleasure to meet you," she added.

Marshall looked at her as if she had grown a third eye on her forehead. He stood up and walked her to the door.

"Are you okay, Mar?" he asked softly after walking with her into the hallway.

"Why? Do I look sick to you?"

"It's just… You were-" he searched for a word, "_nice_ over there," he completed his sentence while he signaled to the dining area with his head.

"Well, if I had thought that would bother you, I could've said a couple of unkind things to make you happy, like how she's so tall that it looks like she was-"

"Mar, Mar," he interrupted her. "It didn't bother me. I liked it for a change."

She sighed and smirked at him. "As long as we're working to make you happy…" she replied with heavy sarcasm.

"That's my girl!" he said with a small smile. He gave her a little hug. "I'm glad to see you."

"I'm glad you're okay," she said and walked briskly away.

Marshall looked at her for a few seconds and then went back in.

"Come back here," Alicia called him. "You're not done eating."

"I'm not really hungry."

"I don't really care," she said with a smile. "We've all noticed. You've lost a couple of pounds or more this week. You're going to disappear if you keep on going like this. Come and eat." She patted the chair beside her and he obeyed.

"That's the one, eh?" She asked after a minute.

"Yeah," he said keeping his eyes on his plate.

"She's beautiful," she stated and fed him a potato.

He chewed slowly and swallowed before answering. "Well; that's not it. She's different… Maybe that's why it didn't work out."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's not her fault."

"Like it's not your fault that I fell for you, but you still feel guilty about it, after all these years."

He looked at her. "I wish I'd have fallen for you. It would have been so easy."

"Love is never easy. It takes a lot of work. Ask my husband about it," she added with a smile.

"He's a very good guy. I like him. We should have dinner together again next week."

She nodded. "Have you decided if you're going back or are you getting a transfer?"

"I think I can go back."

"Something happened this week, eh? When you flew there on Tuesday?"

He took a few seconds. "Yeah. Something changed. I think I can get over her and go back to being his partner and friend."

"She disappointed you, didn't she?"

The pain he had been feeling since he figured out there was no baby on the way came back rushing. He stood and walked away to keep Alicia from seeing the tears he could not stop. "Kind of…"

"I'm sorry… She must be blind not to see what she's missing." She stood and walked towards him. She hugged him from behind. "Maybe tomorrow you can talk and figure out things. She's here. That's a step forward."

"She's here because Stan sent her."

"You don't _really_ believe that, do you? She's here because of you. Talk to her."

"I'll talk to her, but I can't think of anything she can say that would change things back."

She turned him in her arms. "It takes work, remember? Just listen to her. Who knows?"

He nodded.

She hugged him tightly. "I have to go, Marsh. I told Pete I'd be there by eleven. We're going to Tybee Island in the morning. Just for the weekend."

"He's trying to keep you away from me," Marshall said with a smile.

"A little jealousy now and then is fine. It rekindles the fire," she said with a wink.

They hugged one more time and then she picked up her things and left.

Marshall cleaned the table and went to bed.

Mary was sitting in her car when she saw Alicia leave. She was sure that she would stay with Marshall. _To protect him…_ Sure.

She had no reservation at the hotel; Eleanor had not made one. That had surprised her. Did she think she would stay with Marshall?

Mary could have gotten a room, but she did not feel like walking to the front desk. She just sat in the car and before she even knew, she was crying. _Damn hormones_, she thought.

The rain had gotten heavy and the car was getting cold.

She missed Marshall.

She picked up her bags and stepped out of the car. She hesitated for a few seconds, then locked the car and walked towards his room. She was soaked in a minute.

Marshall heard the knock and figured Alicia had forgotten something, but he grabbed his weapon and walked carefully towards the door, in case his deranged former witness had made it to his room.

"Who is it?" he asked.

Nobody answered at first, but then he heard it. "It's me, Mary. It's Mary."

He put the gun down and opened the door. Mary was standing there, all wet, holding her bags, and crying.

He pulled her in and closed the door.

**_A.N. I carefully read all the messages and reviews and I think they all more or less agree about the kind of outcome they would like to see. I could not throw away the other ending I had written –I get quite attached to what I write– so I decided to mix both endings in one thread. As a result of the mix, the story got a little longer, but we are still very close to the end. I wish to thank everybody who expressed an opinion. Some gave me great ideas and I had to put a couple of things more in the story because of that. Please, let me know what you think of the result. It is great when the communication goes both ways._**

**_And one more thing, to finish the thought I started at the top. It seems logical to me that _****_Marshall_****_ has someone who loves him -or has loved him- and that he could not reciprocate, or he would still be with that person. He is a kind, good man and it would seem unreal for him to have no one in his past. That is all I tried to show here. _**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 27**

**_A.N. I had to make a very long section to be able to finish the story soon. I really do not know how it got to be so long! I hope this part has a better reception than the last one. Please, please, let me know. I still do not know what was wrong with 26._**

He did not say a word. He guided her into the bedroom and put her bags on a chair. She stood there, in the middle of the room crying with her hands on her face. He brought a towel from the bathroom and started drying her hair. It reminded him of that day, after the kidnapping, when she had run out of the office and walked aimlessly while she freaked out and cried. He had just followed her and tried to make sure she did not get herself killed by a truck. Now, he was going to save her from pneumonia.

When the hair seemed better, he put the towel down and opened her travel bag. He took out a thin sweatshirt and a pair of pants that he had seen her use to sleep.

He stood behind her and grabbed the edges of her layered shirts. "Mar, let me take these off," he said pulling her two T-shirts up. "They're wet; you'll get sick."

Mary did not cooperate.

"Come on, raise your arms," he tried again and this time she did.

He pulled the shirts over her head and reached for the sweatshirt. He put her head through the collar of the shirt and he was lowering it down her body, when he realized the bra was also soaked. He pulled the shirt down and said, "I'm going to open this thing, Mar, because it's too wet. Let it fall and get your arms in the sleeves."

Mary obeyed quietly. She had stopped crying, but she was still breathing unevenly.

He then opened her jeans and let them fall. She stepped into her sleeping pants without a word.

"Come on, get in bed. You're still cold," he said as he softly pushed her towards the bed.

She lay on her side and he got in bed behind her and spooned against her. He turned off the lights, pulled the covers over both of them, and laid one arm over her waist.

"Is it okay if we stay like this until you start feeling warm?" he asked, afraid of making the crisis worse.

She nodded.

"Then, you can do whatever you want, but I think you should try to sleep for a while, Mar. We can talk in the morning."

She sobbed softly, so he changed his plan.

"Or we can talk now, if you want to…"

Mary felt comfortable and warm, but she had too many ideas going around in her head and she could not think of sleeping. She nodded softly again.

"Okay… What happened out there? Why were you crying?" he asked.

She suddenly felt trapped. "Lots of reasons."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

She lay on her back, but made sure his arm stayed around her. She just wanted a chance to see him.

Marshall raised himself upon an elbow to see her better.

"My mom said something before I left to take the plane," she started.

Marshall thought she looked like a little girl, upset with her mommy. He had not had many chances to see _vulnerable_ Mary. She only let her guard down after huge crises. He supposed not having his child was big.

It was for him, at least.

"Why do you let what she says upset you, Mar? You know her."

"I think this time she was right," she conceded with a sigh.

Marshall looked at her. That was new. "What did she say?"

"We had a fight," she began.

He was not surprised.

"About Brandi and Raph. He was offered to coach his former team, so he resigned from his job with Peter."

"That's good. I'm sure he'll enjoy that job much better."

"Yeah, but as soon as he accepted, he asked Brandi out, to celebrate."

"And?" Marshall asked, unable to find a reason to begin a fight in that statement.

"And he's trying to date my sister right after he dumped me?"

Marshall had a hard time not getting out of the bed and finishing the conversation. After all they had been through…

He took a deep breath. "You told me you agreed with him about ending your relationship. Why can't he try to be happy with somebody else? _We_ made a try… It may not have worked, but it happened."

"That's what my mother said," Mary admitted.

"And you understand she was right?" he checked.

She nodded. "She also said that I was very selfish and that in the last years I had become some kind of unmanageable beast that scared everybody away." She paused. "You don't think I'm selfish, do you? I've let them both stay, in spite of everything they've done, and I-"

"I don't think she was talking about that. I think she was just upset about Brandi and Raph. Peter was a much better choice for your sister than Chuck, but she broke-up with him, so the next best thing is for her to be with Raph. Your mother was very disappointed when you two ended your engagement. She likes him a lot."

Mary sighed. Then, she said, "She likes you, too, apparently."

"Why?"

"She said it was good that I was coming to see you because you were the only one capable of taming me," she explained with heavy sarcasm in the delivery.

Marshall chuckled. "I wish…"

"You said that once."

"What?" he said confused.

"That you were the keeper of the exotic creature and you protected her."

He scoffed; "It's not the same."

"Lots of bad things happen when you're not close to me. This week was awful."

He could imagine. "I'm sorry. Do you want to tell me?"

She hesitated. "No."

Marshall was very disappointed, again. "Why don't we go to sleep? We can talk more in the morning."

Mary noticed the change in his demeanor and agreed. She turned to her side and held his hand to make sure he would not take it away from her.

He lay there quietly, unable to close his eyes.

For the first time in a week, Mary fell asleep fast and had a long night without nightmares, nausea, or other nuisances. She woke up with the first lights of the morning. It was still raining and Marshall's arm was still around her waist.

She raised her hand to be able to touch his hand. She caressed it softly and was surprised when he gently squeezed her fingers.

"I didn't know you were awake," he said from behind.

She turned to be able to look at him. "I missed you," she said with great effort.

He looked at her quietly, trying to decide in which way she meant it.

"Hey, knucklehead, don't you have anything to say about that?" she tried to keep the mood light.

"Let's talk about what happened this week."

"Give me a good reason _why_ I'd have to tell you. It's my problem and I'll deal with it. The keeper wasn't working this week; he doesn't get the newsletter."

"Okay," he said looking at her eyes and nodding in understanding. Then he got out of bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked surprised.

"I'm going to take a shower and get ready. You said we have work to do."

"Wait; you said we'd talk in the morning," she reminded him as she sat in bed.

"You just said you don't have anything to tell me. I got it. Now, I'm going to take my shower."

"Come on, _Marsh_," she exaggerated the nickname. "You don't usually give up that easy."

"Maybe I'm tired of begging," he replied and picked up some clean clothes from a drawer.

"Marshall!" she called him right before he entered the bathroom.

He turned and looked at her with a question in his eyes, but his entire demeanor said he would not accept any more games.

"I had a shitty week. It's not going to get better just because we talk about it. Besides, it got worse when I found you here with the Roman Goddess," she confessed.

Marshall was stunned. He was not expecting jealousy at all. He left the clothes on a chair and sat at the end of the bed.

"You were jealous of Alicia?"

"Duh… She's gorgeous."

"That's not the point. What do you care who do I sleep with? You don't want me," he said and Mary heard the pain.

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe you just don't want me with anyone at all so that you can govern me at your will; just like Raph."

"Have you slept with her?" she asked, deliberately ignoring his last sentence.

"It's none of your damn business," he used her habitual words. He shook his head as if fed up and got up to pick up his clean clothes.

"We're not done here."

"I'd say we are. _I am_, at least." He went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Mary jumped out of bed and opened the door with fury.

Marshall was about to take his shirt off, but he lowered his arms with a gesture of defeat. "What now? Did Stan tell you to follow me into the bathroom?"

"What?" she asked, unprepared for his non-sequitur.

"You're here because he sent you to convince me to go back to Albuquerque. Fine, go tell him I'll be back as soon as this seminar is over. I don't care anymore. I'll take the first plane next Saturday. Happy now?" He pushed her gently out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Mary was shocked. What did that mean? What was he talking about? He did not care about _her_ anymore? A couple of weeks with Alicia and he was done with her? So much for great love.

She opened the door again and Marshall sighed with impatience. He was shaving in front of the mirror and he did not turn to look at her.

"Now what?"

Mary just looked at him. How many times in the last year had she entered the bathroom and caught Raph shaving? It was such a mundane task, but looking at Marshall now, she felt something different. Would it be too much to ask to wake up every morning with his arm around her waist? Would it be such a bad thing to see him shave every day before his shower? Why was she still afraid of sharing his life?

She got closer and looked at him. She could see that he was upset.

"Can we talk? Seriously," she tried.

He kept shaving as if she had not said anything.

She grabbed the razor from his hand and Marshall was about to retrieve it when she stood on her toes and continued the shaving.

Marshall let her do it.

She carefully finished the job and then cleaned his face with a towel she had dampened in warm water.

"Don't get used to it," she warned.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Can we talk now?"

He sighed. "Seriously," he said looking at her eyes.

She nodded.

They walked back to the bedroom. He sat in the chair by the bed and she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not good at this,' she started with a grimace.

"No kidding," he said.

She relaxed. He was not going to be _that_ serious.

"Okay. Let's see. Where do we begin?" She thought for a few seconds. "There _is_ something I really want to know."

"What?"

"Everybody thinks you've been in love with me for a long time. Have you?"

He was surprised by her question, but he had nothing to lose. "Yes."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

He remembered their conversation in the diner. "Because I didn't want to have a moment like this?"

"Smart-ass." She sneered.

"Let's make a deal. I'll tell you the real reason if you explain why you didn't tell me about your engagement to Raph."

"Fair enough. You first."

He was not sure if to trust her. "Fine. I thought that if I told you, it would ruin our friendship, that it would make it difficult to be partners like before."

"Why?"

"Because…" he took his time, "because there's always been some kind of tension between us, part of the bantering and the bickering, but it has always been… innocent. Knowing how I felt about you would have put a different connotation to most of our words. It would have become uncomfortable to play with that kind of fire."

"Sexual tension?" she asked almost casually.

He nodded.

She looked down. "Yeah, okay. I can see it that way, especially because you give sex a lot more importance than I do."

"Do you really think so?" He asked sincerely.

"At least you give it a more_ elevated_ meaning," she tried.

He agreed with a reluctant gesture. "It would have made me self-conscious about everything we said that could be misinterpreted, do you understand?"

"Yes, I get it. Don't worry. I understand."

"Then, it's your turn."

"Okay… I just couldn't bring myself to tell you."

"That's not a reason; it's an excuse. I thought we would be serious about this."

She sighed. "I thought you wouldn't approve. There was something about you every time I talked about Raph. It was as if it made you cringe."

"It wasn't Raph. It was the idea of you with someone else," he confessed. "I'd say it was jealousy."

"I didn't know, but I picked up a vibe. I just couldn't tell you."

"Okay," he said and it felt as if both matters were settled. "What else do you want to talk about?"

"I know Raph talked to you,' she said and he felt as if she had dropped a bomb in his lap.

He barely nodded.

"I was very mad at him, but now I understand why he did it. He was trying to help."

Marshall was unable to talk about it. He nodded again.

She wanted to say that she was sorry for not telling him herself, for lying, for making him suffer for no reason, but she could not find the words. She was not sure she knew how to do it. It was too hard.

She tried a different approach. "Now I'm afraid I've ruined all the chances we had." She phrased it as a statement, but it sounded more like a question to Marshall. She was looking at him very intensely, checking his reactions.

He took a deep breath. "If you'd asked me last night, I'd have said you were right."

She saw a little light in so much darkness. She had to walk towards it. "And now?" she dared.

He looked at her. Had he been expecting her to ask that question? Had he pushed her to it? Chances of what? What did she want from him?

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't think when you're so close."

He stood up and walked towards the dresser. He opened a bottle of water he had there and drank a zip.

Mary let him alone for a few seconds, but she was thinking. _Proximity improved her odds_, right? That was the logical conclusion.

She got up and walked towards him. She stood between him and the dresser and encircled his waist with her arms. She leaned backwards to look at him in the eyes. "Would you be willing to compromise? Find a middle ground?"

His heart raced. "What would that be?"

"I don't know yet, but we can work the terms, if you're willing to try... I am," she added and she felt the tension grow.

He put the bottle down and looked at her. "I'm not sure. It will depend on what you want from me and what you're willing to give."

She suddenly did not want to talk anymore. They had talked too much. She looked at his eyes and felt as if they were calling her. They were so blue, so peaceful… How could she not have noticed it before? They had been offering that peace, that love, that life for a long time. If only she had looked at his eyes long enough, she would have known. And all the time she had spent looking for happiness elsewhere would not have been lost. "I'll give you anything you want, anything if you take me back," she said softly.

Marshall felt she was being truthful. She meant it, but they had to talk more about it. "To take you back would imply that at one time I had you, I possessed you… and that is dogmatically impossible."

She stood on her toes, leaning on him, and whispered, "Just shut up."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. She was too close… She was too, too close. He knew what was coming and he tried to prepare. They were not done talking. He had to be strong.

But when she kissed him, he lost the battle with himself.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 28**

**_A.N. Warning for language._**

Marshall was amazed by the power she had over him. He was back kissing her, enjoying her taste, her touch, her whole body flush against his…

How could he? How could he love this woman so much that his brain could erase in two seconds weeks of pain and regrets? How could he forget what she had taken from him?

They had to talk about the baby. She had to explain why she had not even bothered to ask his opinion. Was he so unimportant that she would do as she pleased without even asking? He had not been expecting her to do his will, but to give him a chance to fight for the baby, to negotiate if necessary…

Every touch of Mary increased Marshall's guilt. He was mad at himself for being so weak; he was mad at her for not feeling at fault. She had said she would give him anything he wanted, but what he wanted was not possible anymore.

When Mary slid her hand just a couple of centimeters below the elastic of his pajama pants, he regained control of himself. It was as if alarm bells were ringing all over his body.

"Stop, Mar, stop," he said as he broke their embrace and walked backwards keeping her away from him with his hands on her shoulders.

Mary was confused. "What? What's wrong?"

He was looking down, avoiding eye contact.

"What the heck is going on? What's your problem?" she asked starting to feel upset. She was offering anything he wanted. What could be wrong?

He let her go and slid down with his back on the dresser. He sat on the floor and looked down.

"Marshall! What the hell is wrong with you?

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's too soon; it's too recent," he pointed out the obvious, in his mind at least.

She was not sure she understood. She kneeled in front of him to try and look at his eyes. "What?"

"I don't want to do this… and even if it weren't so soon after what happened, I'm not sure I'll ever do it again without protection. I'm not taking that risk another time."

Mary tried to understand. That meant he _did_ want to do it, but… Suddenly she started to comprehend what he was talking about. He believed that she was not pregnant anymore.

Well, she had threatened to do it in front of Raph. It was logical that he would have told Marshall.

She was about to correct him, when she realized that he was willing to take her back _even_ under the belief that she had killed his child.

It was like a revelation. Goodness, _he loved her_. He _really_ loved her. With all her defects and quirks and with her all-around-charming attitude… That was why they worked together so well; that was why they made love so fabulously. How could she match that? Nothing she could do would repay that kind of love.

Nobody had ever loved her that way…

"I want to keep talking before we make any decisions," he continued when he got no answer from her. "I want you to tell me about the baby."

She felt the magnitude of his pain for the first time. All of a sudden, Marshall Mann stopped being a mystery. She saw what he needed and what he wanted and she promised herself that she would really, _really_ do anything he wanted. There were so many things she could have said before that would have healed him, that would have helped him come out of the dark place where she could see him lost right now. She had to fix it at once.

"Okay. The baby," she said as she got closer to him and held his bandaged hand. She stroked the fingers coming out of the bandages. "Raph probably told you I found out I was pregnant last Saturday and it was a very big surprise, to say the least."

Marshall nodded softly.

"The doctor surmised that taking penicillin at the time I restarted taking the pill had some negative result on its effectiveness, thus allowing for the pregnancy to occur…"

Marshall raised his head to look at her. She sounded like she was channeling him.

"But we shouldn't dwell on the past. I apologize for having betrayed the trust you put on me that night, albeit unintentionally."

"Are you okay?" he worried. "You don't sound like yourself." His distress about the baby almost disappeared when he figured out something was wrong with her.

She looked at him and he immediately recognized her annoyance expression. "Shut up, doofus. I'm trying to do the right thing here and it's kind of hard."

He smiled, in spite of it all. That was Mary. She was fine. "Okay, go on."

She seemed to be organizing her thoughts before talking again. "Alright. I've been a good girl and drank milk and stopped having coffee and any form of alcohol…" she gestured with her hand, "and all that crap, you know…"

He smiled again. That sounded more like her, but, also, it sounded as if-

"We're entering the sixth week, so we would be able to hear his ─or her─ heartbeat, if we had a stethoscope… I read that in the internet this morning," she added.

He turned his whole body towards her. "You're still pregnant?"

He was looking at her, his eyes open wide, so hopeful that it made Mary feel guilty for every second he had spent doubting it.

She smiled at him. "Duh… I never said I wasn't."

"But you never said a word about the baby and-"

"What did you expect? _Let's have some pie and, oh, by the way, you knocked me up two weeks ago_?

"Yeah," he replied, unable to keep the smile off his face.

"Well, you did. Happy now?"

He smiled openly; then he looked at her with a serious expression. "You always tell me everything. What changed?"

She shrugged. "It was my fault; I didn't want you to think I did it on purpose-"

"Mar, I trust you. I know you didn't want to get pregnant, I know you weren't careless either. You thought we were covered, but something went wrong… or _right_, if you ask me."

"Well, now you know."

He had tears in his eyes; he grabbed her hand and squeezed it with affection.

She felt like crying again. Ugh… Hormones! She closed her eyes. "I'm becoming a stick of butter," she said without thinking.

"What? He asked amused.

"Ready to melt at any sign of warmth."

He chuckled. "I like that," he said and he hugged her tightly.

She felt the hug was far more intense than the ones he had given her since she had arrived to the hotel.

"I have a stethoscope," he said happily as he let her go.

"No, you don't," she said with heavy skepticism.

"I do. In the first aid kit," he assured her.

"_First_ aid? That would be second or third, if you think about it," she said looking at him with a stunned expression.

"It pays to be prepared," he replied with a smile.

She shook her head and stood up. She walked to where he had left her bags and searched for something in a pocket. In a few seconds she found it.

She took out the small baby booties and showed them to him. "I can't believe you threw away a perfectly good pair of shoes," she joked. "If this is a girl," she said touching her belly, "she'll never forgive you."

He was surprised that she had them. He approached her and looked at the baby shoes. He touched them cautiously, as if the baby were already wearing them. Then, he looked at her. "Seriously, Mar, how do you feel about the pregnancy?"

She smirked. "Freaking scared?"

"You _do_ want to keep the baby or you're doing it for me?" he wanted to make sure.

"Both."

Her answer made him feel joyful. "You know you won't do this alone, don't you?"

She nodded. "Still, it's kind of huge."

"Huge good," he said.

She slowly nodded again.

"You still don't want to marry me?" he tried.

"If that's a proposal, it really sucks, Mann," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"No; it's not. You said you didn't want to marry me and I believed you. I was just checking if you changed your mind."

"Because I'm pregnant? I'd never marry anyone just because I'm pregnant. I can deal with this on my own."

"I know that, but you don't have to. I want you to let me be a part of this."

"Fine. That's fine with me. You're officially in charge of the father's role. Good enough?"

"Very good," he said with an approving gesture, "but you know what I really want. However," he paused, "I'm not asking. You said you'd give me anything I wanted, but I've already been granted one of the two most important wishes I had, so, if you ever feel like marrying me, you'll have to propose yourself."

"That would just prove one more time that I'm the one wearing the pants in this relationship," she teased.

"As long as we _are_ in a relationship, I don't mind if I have to go naked."

"There, you see? _That's_ a good idea. Why don't we try _that_? You interrupted me in the middle of something important before."

"The baby was more important."

"Yeah, but that doesn't take away the value of sex. I like sex. It's important, too," she looked at his expression, "of course, not _as_ important as the baby, but-"

He embraced her. "Now _you_ shut up."

**_A.N. There is enough left for one more section, unless anyone is interested in what happens next. One of my Literature professors at the University used to say that nobody cares what happens to Cinderella and the prince after they ride off into the sunset, but my students these days are curious about the aftermath. Let me know either way. Finally, thank you, so much, for all the kindness in the reviews. This has been a great experience._**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 29**

**_A.N. Warning for language._**

When Marshall kissed her, she was expecting it. Nevertheless, she was surprised by the intensity, the passion his kiss had, and even more when she discovered the difference was more evident as they made love.

When her brain was able to finally regain its normal functioning, she lay by his side, with her head on his chest, trying to figure out what had changed.

She remembered the first time they had made love and she realized that, that time, it had been all her. He had limited himself to respond to ─and survive ─ her onslaught.

Later that night, in the shower, the roles had been reversed and Marshall had taken the lead, but it had been a soft, controlled, calculated lead. After they had moved back to his bed, he had still kept the control and he had showed her what he had wanted, seemingly, for a long time. She had been treated in a way nobody had ever treated her before, as a precious entity, worthy of love, care, and respect.

The following day, she had gotten the chance to try his method and it had been a fun, pleasurable experience, but she still had felt that something was missing from Marshall's end.

As a whole, the experience had been better than any other she had previously had, physically and emotionally, though she could not pinpoint why, or what had made it better. The fact that they had argued so badly after it, had rendered the whole point irrelevant.

Then, their last encounter had been very unusual, every minute tainted by the knowledge that it was a farewell night.

Now, Mary could feel that Marshall had found what she had been missing. Every touch, every kiss, every stroke this morning had transmitted some kind of energy that moved her beyond what their bodies felt.

Was this what other people called _true love_? She found that notion sappy. She had to think of a better explanation.

She had been certain to have loved and been loved before. She had loved her husband ─for a while─ and she had loved Raph. She had married the first and she had been about to marry the second… because she was in love with them, right? She had had fun with them, she had desired them ─especially Raph─ and she had envisioned a future with them.

The first experience had ended in complete failure. They were both too immature and unable to carry a relationship beyond their bed.

The second one had ended with the beginning of a solid friendship.

Now, did she love Marshall the same way? What was this that bonded her to him? She had finally understood the depth of _his_ love. Could she ever feel that way for him? For anyone?

Had she started to really fall for him and had that made the difference when they made love or had it all come from him? She was still baffled by the wanted she wanted him, not with fiery desire, but with almost desperate need.

"This was different," she said, unable to find an answer on her own.

"How?" Marshall asked, curious.

"I don't know. It's like, for the first time, I felt you were _all_ there, both body and…" she hesitated.

"Soul?" he asked.

"I was going to say mind, but, yeah, maybe _soul_ fits better."

He stroked her hair gently. "I know that something changed for me."

"What?"

He was doubtful about telling her what he thought. He finally gathered courage and said it. "Before, whenever we were together, I kept seeing it as just having sex, a matter of giving physical pleasure to each other. Everything we did was exciting, arousing, satisfying at a corporal level, but it left me wanting something beyond that and I couldn't reach it, not completely, none of those times. I could have gone on like that for a while, but it would have inevitably become too unfulfilling, empty, spiritually draining. "

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did. I was hoping it would change over time, but when you said you weren't interested in a more profound relationship, you know what happened."

"We're still not getting married or having half a dozen children, so, what changed?" she said, failing to see the difference.

He carefully extricated himself from their embrace and sat up. "I don't want to offend you or hurt you, Mar. Maybe we should stop here."

"No freaking way," she said, sounding already offended and sitting up to face him. "Whatever you have to tell me, say it to my face."

He looked at her with those wide eyes that had become a symbol of his inner turmoil to her. "I wasn't sure how you'd react when you got pregnant."

"And what would havebeen the right way to react, _in your world_? She asked indignantly.

He sighed. "In my world, and _only in my world_, because I try not to judge people for not doing what _I _think is right, having the child would have been the correct answer."

"And what would have happened if I had decided _not_ to have the baby?

"The truth? I found out that I'd have kept loving you the same way I did before. I can't change that, but-"

"But what?"

"But I'd have been disappointed," he finished almost as if asking for forgiveness.

She calmed down. She was not really offended. She felt sorry for him. It had to be hard having very high moral standards and expecting the rest of the world to measure up. At home, she had soon learned that was not possible most of the time.

Besides, she knew he was telling the truth. He would have still loved her.

"And now that I passed the test?"

"I love you even more."

She had felt it. She wished she could say the same to him, but the words did not come to her lips.

She hugged him, trying to hide the fact that she was not saying what was expected of her. Marshall did not ask for anything else and simply tightened the embrace.

After a while, Mary broke the hug and admitted she was hungry. They ordered food from the hotel restaurant to avoid going out.

Mary was the first to take a shower and he cleaned the room while she was doing it. After that, he went into the bathroom. He had not been there for long, when Mary heard something that made her alert. They were trained to be always scanning for danger, but she was in a hotel room, with Marshall. What could be wrong?

She looked around and tried to carefully hear for anything different. She finally identified a muffled sound coming from the bathroom. She walked to the door and opened it very carefully, without making any sound, and discovered that Marshall was standing under the shower, with his arms and forehead against a side wall, crying.

She gently closed the door and walked back into the room. She sat by the bed. Her heart was racing; she was shivering. She was stunned by how much that image had affected her.

Was he crying because, after days of uncertainty, he was finally relieved to know the baby was alright? Was he crying because she did not love him as he loved her?

In any case, she felt it was her fault that he was suffering and it broke her heart.

When he came out, still drying his hair with a towel, he walked to her and gently lifted the edge of her T-shirt to look at her belly. She would have never guessed he had been crying.

"I still can't believe it," he said with a small smile.

"Aren't you going to get your stethoscope?"

He shook his head softly. "No… It's too early. The baby is most likely the size of a pea or so. We'd need far more sophisticated equipment to hear a heart that fits in that size. And it's only the beginning of the week. He'll be for sure pumping blood by the _end_ of this week."

She looked at him, not really surprised that he knew all that, but at the fact that he had not corrected her when she first said it.

He knew what she was thinking. "I just loved that you'd been reading about the baby," he smiled.

She shook her head with a smile of her own. He would always find a way to surprise her.

After lunch, she decided to check her tickets. She was pretty certain that the departure time was five in the afternoon, but she wanted to make sure.

"Hey! These are for tomorrow, not today," she said with astonishment. "Do you think Eleanor knows something? First, she didn't get me a room, then she left me here for the whole weekend…"

"Eleanor always knows everything," Marshall joked.

"Well, let's hope she tells Stan and she solves one of our problems then."

Marshall realized that now they would _have_ to tell Stan about their relationship. "I wonder how he'll take it."

"He's fine with it either way, as long as we keep the performance of the office at its top level."

"You told him?"

"Not really, but he kind of figured out that something was going on between us and said that, either way, just sex or whole marriage thing, he just expected professionalism."

"That we can do."

Mary agreed.

They spent the rest of the weekend inside, watching movies, trying different meals from the hotel menu, and making love. Mary admitted to herself that leisure time had always been fun with Marshall, but adding sex to the equation made it even better.

On Sunday, she woke up spooning with him and she realized she had not felt that great in years. Could that be what some married couples had or did all vanish after the first months, or after the first kid?

Why did she always have to dissect everything?

Around three in the afternoon, Marshall got a call on the radio from the policeman at the entrance of the parking lot, letting him know that marshal Alicia Walker was on her way. Marshall told Mary and he immediately caught her reaction, though she did not say a word.

He secretly ─and guiltily─ enjoyed the spark of jealousy in her face.

Alicia came with her husband Peter, as they were on their way back from their short vacation. She had a short talk with Marshall and agreed to drive to the airport with Peter so that they could bring Marshall back to the hotel after accompanying Mary.

Mary endlessly complained about not being allowed to drive on her own to the airport, but Marshall had a weird feeling and did not change his mind.

After Mary got in line to check in at the airport, Marshall, Alicia, and Peter watched her from the far side. It was a busy Sunday afternoon and dozens of people tried to push their way around.

Suddenly, in the middle of the multitude, Marshall spotted a face he recognized.

"Alicia," he said pointing at the woman and reaching for his gun. "It's her. She's going towards Mary."

The urgency in his voice made Alicia reach for her gun, too.

"I don't have a clear shot, there are too many people around her, and if I try to call Mary, she'll turn around and become a better target, or the lunatic could take hostages."

"I'll cover you," Alicia said, understanding the dilemma. She asked her husband to take cover and she followed Marshall.

He swiftly walked among the crowd towards his target and tried to make people back off by showing his badge and asking for silence with a gesture of his hand.

He was a couple of meters away from her, when all of a sudden the crazed woman noticed the change in people's behavior around her and turned to face Marshall. She was carrying a long kitchen knife in her hand and she threw herself towards him ready to stab him.

They both fell to the floor and fought for possession of the knife for a few seconds.

Mary, alerted by the commotion, was trying to find an angle to shoot the woman attacking Marshall, but she had no clear line of sight because of all the people running or, astonishingly, not running but trying to watch the fight.

It seemed to Mary that it was taking years for her to clear a path to them, when in fact it had only been a few seconds before a shot rang and the former witness fell backwards with a strangely neat dark circle in her forehead.

Mary reached them and kicked the knife out of her lifeless hand.

Alicia approached with the gun still in her hand as Peter followed her, showing her badge to the policemen running toward the scene of the shooting.

"They're U.S. Marshals," he kept repeating, because Alicia did not seem to be interested in talking to the police or putting her gun down. Mary did not either.

After checking the vital signs of the fallen woman, certain now that she was dead, Marshall accepted the hand Mary was offering and stood up.

He took Alicia's gun from her hands, emptied it, and placed all the items in a plastic bag he got from his pocket.

Mary looked at him, stunned that he would carry bags for collecting evidence in his leisure jacket.

Marshall realized what her look meant. "What? I like to be prepared. You never know."

She just scoffed. Then she looked more carefully at him. "You have blood," she said as she tried to check his side.

"It's nothing. Must be my hand again," he replied and turned to Alicia again." How are you doing?"

"Fine, fine," she said, but he was quite certain that she was not.

Half an hour later, he was sitting on a stretcher in the ER of the nearest hospital.

Peter entered the room and smiled nervously.

"They sent me to check how you were doing. It looks like they have a ton of paperwork to do. They have marshals and police and a lot more people in a room upstairs."

"I'm sure I'll have to do my share soon," Marshall said.

"I think they won't bother you until tomorrow. Your boss from Albuquerque called and they decided to let you rest. They have a police car downstairs to take you back to the hotel. I'm supposed to stay with you until Alicia comes to pick me up. Inspector Shepherd will take a plane tomorrow afternoon."

Marshall nodded. "As soon as they discharge me, we'll get out of here and go grab a beer at the hotel. That sounds good." He looked at Peter more carefully. "How are you doing?"

Peter looked down. "I… I suppose I'm fine. It's just that that was intense, man. I'm an architect, you know… My life is very different. I _know_ Alicia is a U.S. Marshal, but watching her… Wow. She killed that woman… That was…"

"I know," Marshall interrupted. "She'll need your support now. It's very hard to deal with something like that, especially the first time."

"You're right," Peter said realizing what that meant. "She said she had never had to shoot to kill before… but that crazy woman was going to kill you. I could see her trying to stab you with that thing. Are you in pain?"

"Oh, crap," Marshall said with regret. "I just realized. They gave me those painkillers; I guess the beer is out of the question. You'll have to drink one for me," he added with a smile.

"Did she hurt you badly?"

"No, just some cuts and scratches in my side. I grabbed her wrist to stop her, but that blade was long… She got me a couple of times."

"For a moment I thought she was going to reach Inspector Shepherd before you got to her."

"I know," Marshall acknowledged, but refused to talk about the fear he felt, especially since it would have all been because of him and his past.

"Alicia told me on the way to the airport that Shepherd and you-"

"Mary." Marshall corrected.

"Yeah, Mary and you-"

Marshall guessed he was trying to ensure that he was not a danger to his marriage anymore. He decided to calm his fears. "That's correct. We're expecting our first child," he added to make sure Peter believed him, "the first one of many, I hope… but we haven't told many people yet. We have to clear it with our boss, first," he finished, worried that Mary would not like that he had shared their secret.

"Have you told Alicia?"

"Not yet."

"Better you tell her, when you're ready. I'll keep your secret."

"Thanks."

Peter decided to sit down for a while as they waited for Marshall to get permission to leave.

"So…" he tried to start a new conversation. "Was she crazy for you or the other way around?"

"Definitely the other way around. I'm completely mad about her. Sometimes it's kind of scary."

"Tell me about it. That's how I feel about Alicia, but at the beginning she didn't even look at me. We used to live in the same building and it took me three months just to get her to say hello to me every time we crossed paths."

"I've been in love with Mary for so long that it feels like it's been that way all my life, like before her there was nothing," Marshall confessed.

"You're her partner; you had to work every day with her. Wasn't that hard, to be so close to her?"

Marshall thought for a few seconds. "I could deal pretty well with it until she got engaged to another guy, a good guy, and I thought I would lose her forever, but when she was shot and I believed she'd die, I discovered that I preferred a million times to have her married to the guy than completely gone from my life. I don't think I've ever been that scared. She wasn't breathing… Her heart wasn't beating..."

Peter realized that Marshall was still not over what had happened at that time and tried to change the direction of the talk a little.

"I thought Alicia wouldn't even give me the time of day. I was surprised when she accepted to go out with me."

"Last year I thought about changing jobs, stop torturing myself," Marshall said looking down.

"Why didn't you?"

"She asked me not to leave and I ended up promising her that I wouldn't," he admitted.

"Maybe she already had feelings for you and she didn't know. Perhaps, if you had told her, she would have realized."

"I almost did, the last time I was shot."

Peter sighed. "Man, that's a dangerous job you three have, goodness."

Marshall shrugged. "It's part of it."

"So, why didn't you tell her?"

"I kind of did, but she didn't get it. That was the worst part. I had so much to tell her and it hurt to have to keep quiet to remain her friend. Every time I noticed she was unhappy at home or whenever she needed a hand and she had Raph's to hold, I wondered how it would be if we were together. It scared me to think that we could be fantastic together and that if we missed the chance to try, we'd never know… but I always had that little hope in the back of my heart, that I'd get a chance to show her."

"Well, it looks like you got it, because now you're together."

"With Mary is hard to say, but I'll enjoy every moment we get."

A doctor came in right then and gave Marshall his discharge papers.

Mary and Alicia met him and Peter later in the hotel. Alicia went home with Peter and Mary stayed the night with Marshall, but they did not talk about what had happened. They just lay down in bed, holding each other. They had spent other nights giving support each other before, after a rough day. It was not a night for lovers. It was night for partners and friends.

The next morning, he went back to teaching and she went back to Albuquerque.

**_A.N. This was supposed to be the epilogue, but it became so long that I had to cut it in two parts. I will try to post the second tomorrow. These events were necessary for what comes next. One more time, thank you for the reviews. The funny thing is that the more I read them, the longer the story turns to be. They give me ideas and the ideas become more twists to the plot and… You get the idea. I had a little section called "Eight years later" but when it started to grow, I thought it would be too much, so I am taking that out. I hope you enjoy!_**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 30**

Mary informed Stan that Marshall would be back to work the following week, but she avoided giving him any other news. She thought it better to wait for Marshall and do it with him.

Jinx and Brandi tried fruitlessly to figure out what had happened in Georgia, but Mary refused to discuss it. She needed him for this talk, too. The worst was going to come when she explained to her mother that she was not going to marry Marshall, not because he had not asked, but because she did not want to do it.

Jinx was not going to like it.

The rest of the week passed fast, busy as she was dealing with a whole family of witness relocated in Albuquerque.

She talked to Marshall on the phone and they exchanged comments about their day, her health, and about friends and family ─Alicia was always one of Mary's subjects of conversation─, but they did not discuss any plans for the future.

He was back on Sunday morning and they got a chance to talk before facing Stan.

On Monday morning, Marshall got to the office first and talked to Stan about his experience in Georgia and about the attacks, but waited for Mary to arrive to give any other news. When she did, they walked to Stan's office.

"Hey, Stan, do you have a minute?" Marshall asked, peeking into the room.

Stan told them to come in and Mary signaled for Eleanor to join them.

Mary and Marshall sat down and Eleanor stood behind Stan.

Marshall looked at Mary and she finally said, "I'm pregnant," and she smiled with that characteristic smirking smiled she used when she was saying something that would somehow rattle the other person.

Stan seemed not to understand for a second, so Marshall clarified, "She's pregnant."

"I got that. I was just… Do you have something to do with this?" he asked, looking at Marshall.

"Technically, yes."

"Technically?"

"I'm the father, if that's what you want to know."

Mary nodded her head in agreement, not dropping her smirk.

"I see," Stan said, more surprised about the way the news had come than about the pregnancy itself. "Well, then, congratulations are in order, right?" he said as he stood up. Her stretched his hand and shook Marshall's hand.

Eleanor was very excited about the news and went straight to hug Mary. "Oh, wow, I knew you two would end up together!" She then hugged Marshall, as Stan was hugging Mary, and asked him, "Have you proposed yet?"

"Er… She's not marrying me," he explained.

"Why?" Eleanor asked, turning to look at Mary.

"Because I don't want to?"

"Oh," Eleanor said. "Okay."

"What? You're not going to make any comments about it?"

Eleanor shook her head slowly. "No… if that's what you want…"

"Yep, that's what I want," Mary replied. "And enough of all this emotional crap. This changes nothing and I have tons of things to do." She walked back to her desk and turned on the computer.

Marshall looked at Stan and whispered, "We'll talk later."

Stan nodded.

Marshall went to his desk and resumed his work.

Eleanor followed after an expressive gesture to Stan.

That afternoon, after Mary left to visit a witness, Stan and Marshall had a long talk. Marshall saw Stan not only as his boss, but in many ways as his mentor and as his friend. He knew he was on his way to replace him as Chief Inspector and he also knew Stan was planning to do some drastic changes in his life. He had been in the Service for many years and he had different options available. In five or six years, he would probably be done with this office. Perhaps even before that.

"So, are you going to tell me what's really going on?" Stan asked as Marshall entered his office.

"It's complicated," he replied and sat down.

"I got that."

"I'm still not clear about all the details myself," Marshall said half-seriously, half-joking.

"Well, you're dealing with Mary here…"

"Yep."

"So?"

"She said she had _feelings_… That's how it all started."

"Feelings for you? What kind of feelings?"

Marshall grimaced. "I'm still not sure about that."

"Okay, and then?"

"And then we went to bed together."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. You know her… When she wants something-" he implied the rest with a gesture.

"And you just went along, I suppose," Stan said, amused.

"More like I was dragged," he chuckled and then he looked Stan in the eyes, with a very serious expression, "I'll always do what she wants."

Stan stood and walked to him. He patted him on the shoulder and then he leaned against his desk. "Don't worry. I've seen you defend your position with claws and teeth when you had to. You'll stand up to her if you have to do it; I trust you. These are just the first stages of love. It gets better," he smiled.

Marshall looked unconvinced.

"And how did you get to the baby? I didn't think she was ever going to agree to that."

"Something happened with her meds and the pill and… We didn't plan it. It took her a while to tell me; I don't know exactly what she was thinking. She made her decision to have the child without asking me ─which hurt, I won't deny it─ but at least she chose what I'd have chosen myself."

"But she won't marry you."

"Nope."

Stan scoffed. "That's Mary for you. Have you told your family yet?"

"No. I'll let some time pass; see how things work out. We're talking to her family tonight; they know about the baby, but not much more, but I won't have a chance to see my parents until Thanksgiving, _if _I go to see them. Last year we worked all week, if you remember, so I don't know."

"Are you scared of telling them Mary's the mother of your baby?" Stan joked.

"Yeah, that, too." Marshall replied lightheartedly. "No, my mother already thinks there's something going on between us. I don't know where she got that idea."

"Maybe from finding Mary crying in the bathroom when you were in the hospital," Stan offered.

"What?"

"They didn't tell you? After the explosion in the Morris' house, your parents got here while you were still unconscious."

"Wait," Marshall interrupted. "That's something I wanted to ask you for the longest time. Why did you call them? I thought I made it clear-"

"Your mother had me on probation since the time you were shot. She wouldn't have forgiven me if I did it again."

Marshall smiled. He knew his mother. He understood.

"So, your mom gets there and we don't know if you're waking up or if you're going to be okay afterwards, and she's very upset. Dr. Finkle gets all professional and gives support to everybody, but Mary doesn't like it and stomps out of the waiting room into the bathroom. You can imagine her, right?"

Marshall nodded.

"Your mother follows her, I don't know why, maybe mother's intuition, and finds her sitting against the wall, crying. I think your mom was feeling like doing that herself. They clicked somehow. I don't know if they talked or what. They just came back out together and they sat kind of close to each other until you woke up."

Marshall was surprised. Neither of them had talked about it. "How did you find out?"

"I was talking to your mom, later that night, and she said a couple of things about it."

Marshall and Stan talked for a while longer until they heard Mary coming up and they went their separate ways.

**_A.N. I do not seem to be able to finish this last part. This is all I got time to type today. I decided to post this part because I will not have much free time coming, so I do not know when the next part will be ready. Please, let me know if you think we are heading in the right direction. I think I am spoiled; when I do not hear from the readers, I worry a lot about the quality of the story. Maybe it should have ended it in 28._**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 31**

**_A.N. Warning for language. _**

That evening when they got to Mary's house, they found Raph with Brandi and Jinx in the living-room. Marshall invited everybody to dinner. They drove to a nice restaurant in the outskirts of Albuquerque and ordered dinner before starting any real conversation.

While they were waiting for the dishes to be ready, Marshall decided to open the dialogue.

"As you all already know, Mary and I are expecting a child in the spring and we wanted to get together to celebrate this occasion."

Jinx stretched her hand and squeezed Mary's with excitement.

Brandi smiled and Raph passed his arm over her shoulders.

"We also wanted to address certain concerns that may have arisen since this announcement was made," Marshall continued. "Though I'm accepting complete responsibility for the paternity of our child, Mary and I have decided that there will be no changes in the way we conduct our lives these days, at least until after the baby is born-"

"What do you mean _no changes_?" Jinx interrupted. "You have to get married, move in together to raise the child-"

"Mom, Mom," Mary said grabbing Jinx's hand so that she would pay attention to her and not Marshall. "We're _not_ getting married, you have to understand that. We don't _have_ to do anything. We'll do what feels better for us and, at this time, there's no way we're moving together or anything like that. Maybe after the baby is born we'll need to think about living in the same house, but, for now, we're fine as we are."

Jinx seemed stunned and kept looking from Mary to Marshall, trying to understand. "Why?" she finally asked.

"It's not like we planned this," Mary answered. "It happened and we're dealing with it, but it's not a matter of life or death; no need to go crazy about it," she said with a smirk. "And talking about going crazy, my stomach just decided to try some of that," she added as she stood up and almost ran to the restroom, obviously sick.

As soon as Mary was gone, Brandi looked at Marshall with something akin to pity. "That was her idea, yeah?"

"Yes."

"And you're going to let her do this?" Jinx asked, still upset. "You haven't offered to marry her? What's going on here?"

"There's not much I can do, Mrs. Shannon, and, yes, I've offered everything I have, but she's rejected me, so, it looks like this is all I can get. Just don't worry; I won't let anything bad happen."

Jinx seemed ready to cry. "I don't understand… She was going to marry you," she said looking at Raph. "Why can't she marry him? He's a good boy, too."

Brandi held her hand. "Mom, let it go. Let it go, at least for now. Maybe she'll change her mind. Let's not ruin this night. We have something great to celebrate. We can try talking to her later, maybe during the week. We have almost eight months left. There will be time to discuss this."

"Besides," Raph added from Brandi's side, "you can trust that Marshall will take care of anything that needs to be taken care of."

Marshall nodded and thanked Raph for his support.

When Mary came back from the restroom, the food had been served and the subject of conversation had changed completely.

That night, after dropping Mary home, Marshall drove to his house like he had always done, finally realizing that he was going to have a child, but Mary was not part of the deal.

The following weeks were not different. A heavy load of work did not allow him to dwell in his unusual situation and before he even thought about it, the time came to do the first sonogram.

"I thought these were done around the fifteenth week, not the twelfth," he said as he sat by Mary's side in the hospital room.

"Well, considering that Mary was on the pill before this pregnancy and that women's menstrual cycles are often irregular after the pill is discontinued, there's a chance that we haven't calculated the age of the fetus correctly. An ultrasound is a better method to estimate the age."

"As long as there are no twins in this story…" Mary said from the stretcher.

"What?" Marshall asked turning to look at her.

"Brandi's constantly reading these books where the heroine always ends up pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, so that she has an instant perfect family," she said in a mocking tone.

"And that would be bad because…?" Marshall asked.

"It's cliché; real life isn't like that," Mary scoffed.

"Okay!" Marshall said looking at the doctor. "Let's start."

Though Mary would never admit it later, watching their child for the first time was a very touching moment. After they were done, she got in Marshall's SUV and said, "Let's go to your house tonight."

"Are you sure?" Marshall asked surprised. They had not spent a night together since he had come back from Georgia and he had thought she was done with him in that respect. Then he realized that perhaps she just wanted some company. Brandi was dating Raph and that only left Jinx in the house.

"Unless you have other plans," she said with a seductive touch in her voice.

"No. It's fine with me," he said looking at her warily.

He drove home and they had a light dinner and watched a movie. After they were finished with it, Marshall asked, "Do you want me to drive you home or are you staying? You can have my room. I'll go to the guestroom if that helps."

"It's only eight," Mary replied. "I'm not ready to go to sleep yet. Besides, tomorrow is Halloween. I hate to be at home for Halloween. Brandi and my mom get costumes and sit in the porch to hand out the candy…" she made a gesture of disgust, "and they decorate the house with spiders and all kinds of crap and-"

"Fine, I get it," Marshall said with a half-smile. "You can stay here. What do you want to do? Are you still hungry? We can go get some ice-cream or we can look for another movie to watch," he suggested.

"I have other ideas," Mary said flirtatiously. She got closer to him and undid the first button of his shirt.

Marshall looked at her with a stunned expression. "I'm glad you do, but I don't," he said with indignation and got up. He picked up the plates and glasses they had on the table and walked to the kitchen.

Mary was at a loss. "What's up with you?" she asked. When she got no answer, she followed him.

Marshall was putting dishes in the dishwasher, clearly upset.

"Marshall, I'm talking to you," she tried again.

He looked at her and she immediately saw that he was truly distressed. "Talk as much as you want; just don't get close to me."

"Who do you think I am? Typhoid Mary? I'm the mother of your child! What's with the attitude?"

"You may be the mother of my child, but you're nothing of mine besides my partner and my friend. We can hang out together, but we're not going anywhere beyond that."

"That's not the song you were singing in Georgia," she reminded him.

"Well, things were different at that time. I thought we were in a relationship and, if I'm not mistaken, you admitted it yourself."

"When did we _stop_ _being_ in a relationship?" she asked with a scornful gesture.

He stopped his cleaning activities to look at her eyes. "The day you, _unilaterally_, decided that we couldn't move in together and I'd have to miss every minute of this pregnancy that you don't deign to allow me to witness. Most fathers get to lie in bed seeing their child move under the skin of the mother's belly, kicking or punching, or they get to talk and sing to their child before he's born, but _you_ decided that all that is not for me. I get to talk about the baby during my lunch breaks. You didn't bother to ask my opinion, just like you never bother to ask my opinion about anything. I've tried to respect your wishes, but this is the last straw." He threw the dish towel he had in his hand against the counter and he walked out of the room full of righteous anger.

Mary was taken aback by the intensity of his feelings. She walked to the den and found him putting away the rest of the stuff they had used.

"You never said anything before," she said very calmly.

He stopped to look at her again. "Would it have made any difference?" He did not wait for an answer. "Who are we kidding here? How many times have I suggested we do something together in the last weeks only to hear you make up some half-hearted excuse to avoid me? I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

She admitted to herself that she _had_ been doing that, but she would not let him know it.

"I'm not a toy that you can put in a drawer and take out when your hormones come calling. I understand that we wanted to keep our relationship professional at the office, but what about after work? Before? During the weekends? You haven't even thought about touching me for at least six weeks… No sex, no kissing, not even a hug in six weeks. When it's time to go home, you grab your purse and you're gone before I can say bye back. Even Eleanor thinks my life is so pathetic that she can't joke about it."

Mary wanted to say something, but she could not figure out how to explain her problem. "I had my reasons."

"Reasons for what?"

"You know, to keep you at a distance."

"At a distance? Some distance… What is it? Eight miles from here to your house?"

Mary realized she would have to tell the truth if she wanted to placate his ire. "Listen," she tried.

Marshall got closer to her and looked straight at her eyes. "What is it now? What magically changed today?" he asked, the tone still hurt.

"You touched me."

Marshall imagined that had to be code for something else, a secret message he would have to decipher. "I'm always touching you… even before this all started. It's not like we've changed any of that. We just don't do anything _intimate_, but-"

"You put your hand in my abdomen, before the nurse put that goo for the ultrasound, and you, you…" she grimaced.

"I caressed it," he softened the tone. "Did that bother you?"

"You didn't look disgusted."

Marshall was perplexed. "Why would I?"

"It's all… distended… and you can see the scar," she seemed extremely uncomfortable, "of the bullet, It's like it's grown and-"

"And you think that would disgust me or what?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah," she admitted as if it were the obvious answer and turned to avoid his gaze.

Marshall's anger immediately dissipated. It had nothing to do with him. It was all about her insecurities and her fear of abandonment. _I'll kick you out of my life so that you don't kick me out of yours when you discover how ugly I've become_.

He walked towards her and embraced her from behind. He leaned towards her and softly kissed her neck. "There's nothing in you that will ever disgust me. I've told you before, Mar, I love you, inside and out, no conditions."

She closed her eyes and enjoyed his proximity.

"You have to tell me when you feel things like this. We've been wasting time that we could have spent together."

She nodded and turned in his arms.

They kissed for the first time in a long time and it felt like starting anew.

In a few seconds Marshall was lying with his back on the sofa and Mary was on top of him. They were kissing and caressing frantically, as if it were the first time. She had already unbuttoned his shirt and was trying to pull his T-shirt off, when they heard a noise at the front door.

They both immediately reached for their guns.

"Yoo-hoo, Marshall! We saw your car here, so… are you home?"

Marshall stood up, almost dropping Mary to the floor, just in time to see his mother enter the den, followed by his father. He tried to fix his shirt and the zipper of his trousers with as much decorum as he could. Mary stood behind him and fixed her clothes.

"Oh!" His mother said as she realized what they had interrupted. "We didn't know you had company. Yours is the only vehicle… Oh, hi, Mary!"

Mary came out from behind Marshall, more composed, and tried a smile. "Hi. Nice to see you again."

Marshall's dad remained quiet, holding several packages and bags.

"Let me help you, dad," Marshall said as he took care of some of the luggage.

"We didn't know if you'd had dinner yet and as we didn't have time to do it ourselves, we brought some food. We've been driving for hours," Dinah said and walked towards the kitchen. "Why don't you put everything else in the guest room, Michael, and Mary and I will serve some of this." She looked around and everybody obeyed.

While Marshall and his father went upstairs, Mary followed Dinah to the kitchen.

They were taking plates out of the cabinet and opening boxes of food, when Dinah asked, "So, how far along?"

Mary was taken by surprise, but she took a deep breath an answered. "Twelve weeks."

"Congratulations," Dinah said with a smile as she got the silverware.

"Thanks… How did you…?"

"Your body has changed since I last saw you," she looked at her, "you look happier," she looked at the trash bin close to the door, "and there's only one beer in the recycling."

Mary nodded with a smile, but she felt she was somehow at fault and that Marshall would be in worse trouble, so she tried to help. "I think Marshall was waiting until we reached the end of the first trimester, to be sure, and he was going to tell you around Thanksgiving… I think."

Dinah, smiled. "Sure." She started piling up the dishes on a tray. "Are you planning a wedding?"

"No," Mary said and hoped she would leave it at that.

"Marshall hasn't proposed?"

Mary braced herself. "He tried, but-"

"You don't want to marry him?" Dinah asked softly, no reproach in her tone.

"I just… I'm not ready for that yet."

"I thought you were engaged before."

"Yes… and it wasn't the right decision."

"I see. So it's nothing personal against Marshall. It's more like a stance on marriage."

Mary nodded, trying to smile.

"Well, I know he loves you, so he must have accepted those terms, but maybe it'd be better if you moved in together."

Mary was unprepared again. "We… we-"

"Your car isn't here, so he brought you from somewhere else and he'll have to take you back home to get your car to go to work and probably get changed," Dinah started to explain.

"That's not-" Mary interrupted with skepticism.

"And you were making out on the sofa. If you were living here, you'd been already in your room, like most couples would."

Mary looked down, unable to refute her.

"Let's get the food out there. It will start getting cold."

They went back to the den where Marshall and his dad were discussing sports.

Dinah and Mary served plates for everybody, but Marshall did not accept his.

"We already had dinner. I'm not hungry," he explained.

"Well, you're keeping this girl starved then," Michael said looking at Mary, who was already eating from her plate. "Care for a beer, young lady?"

Mary shook her head, unable to answer with her mouth full.

Dinah looked at her husband, stunned that he had not noticed.

Marshall realized his mother knew and was about to say something, when Mary said, "I'm pregnant, but thanks."

Michael looked at her, then at his wife, then at Marshall.

"We were going to tell you during the next family reunion," Marshall explained.

Michael took a few more seconds to digest the information and then stood up and walked towards Marshall. "Whoa! This is great news, son, congratulations!"

Marshall stood up and they hugged. Then Michael turned to Mary so she hugged him, too.

Dinah smiled and when they were back sitting down, she stretched her hand and squeezed one of Marshall's. "I'm very happy for you two. Mary and I had a nice talk in the kitchen."

Marshall's stomach did a little flip thinking of Mary having a nice conversation with his mother, but he smiled. "I was thinking of doing this later in the year, but now that you're both here, maybe tomorrow evening we can have dinner with Mary's family, so that you get to know each other better, without anyone being in the hospital," he joked.

His parents agreed and the rest on the dinner passed in comfortable conversation.

After dinner, Mary went with Marshall to his bedroom as if that were her normal routine.

He found her a shirt to wear to bed and she went to the bathroom to get changed.

When she got back, she sat on the bed with a pensive expression.

"What? Are you okay? They took it pretty well, wouldn't you say?"

Mary nodded. "Did you hear your dad say that Alicia visited them last June?" She looked at Marshall. "Does she usually visit your family?"

He was curious about why she cared. "Probably only when she's in town for another reason."

Mary kept quiet for a short while. "Did you ever sleep with her?" she asked suddenly.

He was amused. "No."

Mary nodded, still dubious. "Would you… have if she'd asked you?"

"No," he replied.

"She never asked you?"

"No."

She nodded again. "Do you want to make out?" she said casually.

"What? No. My parents are on the other side of this wall."

"So what? They won't hear anything new."

"Just get in bed, Mar. We're not doing anything else tonight."

"Spoilsport."

He smiled and hugged her. Things were getting better. They would have time to get there some other day.

**_A.N. One step closer to the end. I am letting it go and writing everything that is coming to me. I know it is a bit too much, but then it will stay in my head bothering if I leave something out. We will be done with the epilogue soon. Thanks for staying this long! Leave a word if you enjoyed getting some more background before the end._**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 32**

**_A.N. Warning for language. _**

On Saturday evening, Marshall sat with his parents at an elegant restaurant downtown. They had gotten there first and Mary and her family were already late.

He had invited Stan, Eleanor, and Bobby D. too, to try and steer clear from the idea of intimate family dinner. They were talking with his parents as he sat waiting for her to show up.

He was somewhat nervous. Neither of his parents had commented about his unorthodox situation with Mary and, considering they had supposedly come to visit him, it seemed strange that they had spent most of the day shopping.

He was also worried about the two families coming together. They had met while he was in the hospital and he hoped they would have no trouble getting along. He just prayed Jinx would not bring up the marriage problem again.

When he finally saw Mary walking towards them, he was surprised.

After the usual pleasantries, they all sat down at the table. Dinah made sure Marshall and Mary sat side by side at the head of the table.

"What's with you?" Marshall quietly asked Mary as the waitress started giving menus around the table.

"What?" Mary seemed clueless.

"You're wearing a dress."

"You're wearing a suit," she scoffed.

"I always wear suits."

"So?"

"You never wear dresses."

"Your mother is wearing a dress."

"So is yours, and Brandi and Eleanor are, too. Still, doesn't change anything. You don't wear dresses unless you have to."

"I just wanted to fit in."

Marshall stared at her. "I wouldn't believe that _even_ if you meant it."

Right then, Mary was distracted by the waitress asking for her choice of beverage. When she was done, she turned to Marshall and whispered, "A normal man would have said something about how well I look in this dress."

"You _do_ look well; hey, you look great," he said looking at her elegant black dress.

"Too late." She turned away from him and started a conversation with his father, who was sitting right next to her.

Much to Marshall's relief, the dinner went well. There were no problems with the food, nobody brought up unsavory or inappropriate subjects to the conversation, and everybody seemed to get along well.

When they were about to start having dessert, champagne was brought to the table. Michael made a toast explaining that, though Mary would not be able to join them, they wanted to celebrate the pregnancy and welcome her and her child to the Mann family.

Stan made a toast for the happiness of Mary, Marshall, and their baby and thanked them for including Eleanor, Bobby, and him in their family celebration.

Raph made a toast in the name of the Shannon family. He said he had felt welcome by them for a long time and that he felt confident that he could express Jinx and Brandi's good wishes for the trio. He added he personally thought Mary had made the right choice this time.

Marshall thanked everybody for their toasts and they were about to start with desserts when Mary asked for the group's attention.

"I know Marshall here thanked you in the name of both of us, the three of us, actually, but I wanted to add a couple of my thoughts to his. Usually I don't like to talk about feelings and all that, but… I'm just asking for a little patience tonight."

They all smiled and encouraged her to continue. Marshall looked at her with curiosity.

"Do you all know what the chance is for a forty year old woman and a forty-three year old man to conceive _naturally_ any given month? About five percent or less," she answered herself when nobody volunteered. "I didn't know either, until a certain walking encyclopedia that we all know and love explained it to me yesterday…" She looked at Marshall, "and that got me thinking." She paused and took a deep breath. "Some people spend their lives blind to some obvious truths, simply because they put all their trust in what can be seen and measured. Saint Exupéry once said that we can only see well with our hearts, because the essential things are invisible to the eyes. I'm more in the middle. All my life I've trusted my senses, but I've also put heavy stock in my instincts, my hunches, my gut feelings… And I'm usually right, but, sometimes, that's not enough…"

She tried a half smile and drank a zip of water from her glass. Everybody at the table kept silent and she felt encouraged by them.

Marshall became wary and something started hurting in his chest.

"Let's say," she continued, more nervously than before, "that many people have noticed my shortcomings and have tried to steer me in the right direction. A friend pointed out a few months ago that it was amazing what you could see when you opened your eyes, but I still didn't open mine." She grimaced a little. "Another friend fired my own words back at me and told me that, maybe, I should allow myself the possibility of something greater, but…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, "it didn't work out either."

Marshall felt a strong desire to stop her, but he could not move.

"Even when Marshall here proposed that we started a family ─unaware that we already had … pretty much started one─" she smiled, "I couldn't see it."

"Mar," he said softly, but she continued.

"I can see now, everything… and… I don't-" she stopped and her eyes filled with tears.

Marshall's did, too. He was terrified of what was coming and he did not know how to stop it.

Mary looked down and softly said, "Damn…" She looked back up and faced the guests at the table. She tried a smile, then she shook her head. "You know what? Forget it. Let me try something different."

She turned to Marshall and spoke directly to him. "Do you remember the exotic animal, the untamed beast, the creature who needs a keeper to protect her from the world and the world from her? Well, I think she's not that exotic after all. She's just freaking scared that the keeper will get tired of her and leave her for a more appreciative one."

Marshall attempted a reply, but she stopped him with a clear gesture. "This creature… she was dared to stop being such a damn coward, to have the courage to stand right next to her keeper, this close," she looked straight at his eyes, "without guile… defenseless…" she took another deep breath, "and risk total annihilation, because she's fallen hard for him, because she can't imagine her life without him."

Marshall tried to talk again, but she put a finger on his lips and shook her head.

"Because he's the best friend she's ever had, could ever hope to have, the man for whom no woman could ever be good enough, not even herself-"

"Mar, don't-" Marshall started, but she stopped him again.

"I got you this," she opened her small purse, took a simple gold band from inside it, and put it in his ring finger. "It has no rock, because the last time it got you too much attention and God knows I don't need you to get any more of that… and you better want it, Ringo, because no amount of lotion and dental floss will help you this time," she finished with a smile and waited for Marshall to say something.

He looked at the ring and then looked at her eyes, but he stayed quiet, as if waiting for something else.

Mary immediately understood and said, "You said I had to propose, so, there it goes. Would you marry me, Marshall Mann?"

He still looked at her, expecting something more.

Everybody at the table contained their breaths, not sure of what was going on.

Mary sighed. "You're such a girl! Okay. _I love you?_"

The fact that she phrased it as a question did not satisfy him. He opened his mouth unsure of how to word his protest.

"I love you," she said seriously, looking at him straight in the eyes. "I love you and I would be honored if you accepted to marry me," she finished.

He smiled broadly and nodded. "Yes," he said with a pleased expression.

"Then, at least kiss me, you numb nuts, or do I have to do it all myself?" she complained.

Marshall obeyed without delay and their family and friends cheered.

"Michael!" Dinah tapped her husband on the arm. "Now's the right time."

Michael nodded. "Okay." He searched for something in his pocket and took out a small blue box. He passed it to Marshall. "Here, son."

Marshall looked at it surprised. "What?"

"It's my mother's wedding ring. I thought you'd like to…" Dinah made an expressive gesture.

He opened the box and took out the ring. He smiled and put it in Mary's finger.

She admired the beauty of the ring and then turned to Dinah and Michael, "How did you know, before you got to Albuquerque, I mean?" she asked, "or do you travel carrying the ring around?"

Dinah smiled.

"Young lady, it almost took as much as paying for the whole wedding just to get that delivered in the same day today."

Marshall still looked at them with curiosity.

"Your mother was certain that Mary here was going to propose to you soon, so…"

Mary smiled. "It looks that there were even more friends trying to steer me in the right direction," she said looking at Dinah.

"I'm just my boy's mother," Dinah said.

"Thanks, for everything."

"No need."

Marshall looked at both of them, unsure of what they were talking about. "What about a toast for Mary, my very own exotic creature, and for hoping she doesn't kill her keeper in his sleep," he said.

Mary smirked at him and they all stood up to make the toast.

Marshall put his arm over her shoulders and took his first worry-free breath in months.

**_A.N. This is it. The end. There's only the "eight years from now" part left and I will try to type that soon, but this is the end of this story. This time I am going to openly ask. Please, let me know if you enjoyed it and what was your favorite part. Thanks._**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 33**

**_A.N. I could not help myself. I was writing the follow-up, eight years later, when this little section kept coming to my mind, like it was missing from the story. I will try to add the wedding if it does not tire the readers. I hope you enjoy. Warning: sex talk. _**

Before leaving the restaurant, Jinx decided to give it a try at being the mother of the bride and invited everybody for coffee at Mary's house. After hearing all the guests accept the invitation, Mary secretly began praying that there would be at least coffee in the house.

She drove home with her family so that Marshall could drive his parents. She asked him to take a little detour or use any other maneuver that would give her time to check the house and the pantry before his parents arrived. Raph could help her get whatever was necessary.

Marshall was surprised when his parents asked him to drive by his house first.

"What do you need from the house?" he asked, thinking that such a stop would make the delay too long.

"We need you to pick up a couple of things," his mother replied.

He looked in his rearview mirror and saw his father feverishly working on his PDA.

"What kind of things?"

Dinah looked at Michael and he nodded. "We just made a reservation at a nice hotel downtown for tonight," she said with a smile.

"You want to spend the night at a hotel? Why?"

"Not us, you! Mary and you… We thought that it would be nice if you could have your engagement night on your own, without us on the other side of the wall," Marshall blushed, "and without Mary's family around. Do you spend many nights at her house?"

"No, I don't. I've only slept there once and I really mean that I _slept_ there. But thank you, anyway. It sounds like a great idea to go to a hotel tonight. I have my to go bag right behind you, dad, so we don't need to go to the house, but I want to stop at a store close by to buy some pastries for the coffee," Marshall said, thinking of Mary's request.

Fifteen minutes later they were at Mary's house. Marshall had explained the current state of destruction of the house, so that his parents would not be shocked when they saw the holes in the walls and the ceiling.

While the guests were in the living room, Marshall found Mary in the kitchen, getting more pastries out of Marshall's package.

"Mm… These are good," she said licking a finger.

Marshall smiled. "Hey, Mar, why don't you go and pack a small bag?"

She looked at him. "What for?"

He explained to her what his parents' engagement gift was.

She smiled widely. "Oh… I know what I need to pack…" She got an impish expression in her face and turned to go to her room.

Marshall was happy that she did not object spending the night with him. She had joked the night before about them making love, but the truth was that it had been a long time since they had last been together. On the other hand, it was also true that if his parents had not interrupted them the day before, everything could have gone differently.

Once they got to the hotel, Marshall got into his pajamas and waited for Mary to get ready. She had spent more than fifteen minutes in the bathroom when Marshall started worrying. He walked to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Are you okay? What's going on in there?"

He heard a loud swearing and the door finally opened. Mary was wearing a stunning dark blue baby doll, but she seemed uncomfortable in it, as she kept pulling at it from different angles.

"Wow, you look great!" Marshall admired her pregnant figure.

"No, I don't," she said upset. "I bought this two weeks ago and I didn't think it would be that tight so soon."

Marshall chuckled. "You look fantastic in it," especially now that he knew she had bought it for him.

"Liar. Let's go to bed."

She sat in bed and turned on the TV.

"You want to watch TV?" he asked surprised.

"Sure," she said flipping through the channels.

"I kind of had other plans for our engagement night. After all, you proposed. I didn't think you'd dare. I need to show you my _appreciation_."

"You'll have other occasions to show it. Now, come to bed."

"Are you feeling sick?"

"No, doofus. I just want to watch some TV."

Marshall got in bed trying to figure out Mary's mood. He carefully observed her as she changed channels, but did not really watch anything. He slowly became aware that she cautiously avoided getting close to him or having any physical contact. He concluded that she was probably feeling self-conscious about her body and her scar again. He thought he could get her to talk about it if he was patient.

"So, do you want to talk marriage or are you thinking about a long term engagement?" he tried after a while of channel surfing.

Mary turned to him, taken by surprise by his question. She stopped playing with the remote control and answered, "No, I was thinking quick marriage, something simple."

"Well, if we choose a date soon, we can make sure my parents can be there, too."

"We can't get married tomorrow…" she protested.

"Why not? It wouldn't be hard for Stan to help us with the paperwork, if we need it. And we're not that far from Las Vegas."

"Are you serious?" she asked, not certain whether he was joking or not. "There's more than eight hours from here to Las Vegas."

"Less than five by plane."

Mary scoffed. "You've lost your mind. I'm not putting my mother and my sister on a plane just to see me get married. We can do it right here, the first date that becomes available."

"I'm joking," he said with a small smile. "There's no need to go anywhere. We can get a license at the County Clerk's Office first thing in the morning on Monday, no waiting period or blood tests necessary. We get the license and we get married. Problem solved."

"We still need _other _things," she protested again.

"Like what? You're not thinking of wearing a dress, are you? That wouldn't be you," he said, certain that she secretly wanted to wear one, but she would not admit it out loud. After all, this was the woman who wore high heels to work everyday, even when they ended up in the desert. "But, you know, Jinx and Brandi would be very disappointed if you didn't. I'm sure they're expecting the whole package. We can find you a dress and rent a tuxedo for me. Does that sound right?"

She looked at him warily. She did want a dress, but she was not going to tell him that. It was just a dream she had ─that she carefully hid from everyone─, because the first time she had gotten married she had been wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Somehow it had seemed to her that the lack of observance of the traditional rituals had contributed to the complete failure of the marriage. "Sure," she agreed. "They'll like that."

"Do you have a list of guests you'd like to have?"

"Besides the people at dinner tonight? No, not really."

"Then, maybe my sisters and we're done."

"Okay."

"What about next Friday? That way we can get other things, like music or flowers."

She liked that. Music and flowers. She did not want to take care of any of those details, but she would not mind having them. "I don't know. We have lots of things to do this week at work. I don't have time to try cakes or choose flowers."

"Would you trust me with the planning?"

She shrugged, "Yeah."

"So, it's Friday okay?"

She nodded.

"Good. Problem solved. Now we can move on to the next issue." He gently took the remote control from her hands and turned off the TV. Then, he turned off the lights.

"What are you doing?" Mary asked, feeling suddenly impatient.

"Putting my plans for tonight to work." He slid down the bed and turned to lie on his stomach. He stretched a hand and raised the edge of the baby doll over Mary's belly.

"I thought I told you to leave your plans for another day, and besides," she pushed down the fabric to cover her abdomen again, "if I'm not mistaken, you said that light was an essential ingredient of your five-sense thing."

He slid his hand under the garment and laid it on her belly. "If you think about it, whenever you get deprived of one sense, the others are heightened. In this case, it's like being blindfolded. We may not be able to see each other, but we can certainly feel…" He slid his hand to the side of her waist and then down on her leg.

She shivered. She enjoyed the contact with his hand.

"Do you know that the fingertips have the highest concentration of tactile receptors of the skin? That is, after the genitals, of course, but think" he raised his body towards her and whispered in her ear, "of the possibilities…" he followed the contour of her lips with his finger for a second. "And from your perspective, your skin can feel textures," he kissed her neck, making sure the light stubble on his face grazed her skin, "and pressure," he caressed the edge of her breasts through the silky fabric, increasing the pressure as he reached the center of the cup, "moisture," he lowered himself back to her abdomen, lifted the baby doll and drew a thin path with his tongue on her belly from the top of her panties to her navel, "and temperature," he blew cold air over his drawing and Mary shivered again.

"Oh, Marshall, come on, that's cheating." She said almost in a whisper. She had had her eyes closed since he had begun playing and was enjoying the game too much to assert her will. "How can I say no to that?"

"And we haven't even talked about the skin's response to vibration," he said enticingly.

She chuckled. "You take this way too seriously, you dimwit," she told him.

"Do you want to go back to watching TV?" he asked smugly.

"Not in a thousand years," she replied playfully. He wanted her and that was extremely reassuring. Even after seeing her in that ridiculously tight baby doll, he did not mind her belly or her now ever growing breasts. And if he kept on going, he would soon find out how much she wanted him, too.

**_A.N. Thanks for the reviews. I love hearing your opinion. Now I am going to write about Marshall's wedding gift._**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 34**

**_A.N. This keeps growing and growing... The only good news is that you could consider the story finished at any of these points, so if you are tired you can stop reading any time. Warning: sex talk. _**

When Marshall woke up, he was gladly surprised to find Mary lying by his side with her head on his chest and an arm over his waist. After making love the night before, she had chosen to lie down far from him, face down almost on the edge of the bed. He had asked her if she would come close to him to go to sleep and she had replied that his body was too hot for her to be anywhere near him. She needed to cool off.

He had read something different in her answer and it had left him unsettled. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep, even after being certain that she was already sleeping.

Finding her back by his side calmed some of his fears.

He spent a few minutes looking at her, simply enjoying the sight.

One of his arms was under her and he knew that if he lifted his hand a little he would be able to touch her back. He wanted to touch her, to make sure she was not a hallucination. Mary, by his side, pregnant with his child. What could he have done so good to deserve so much? Even if she changed her mind and did not marry him, days like these would warm his memories for the rest of his life. And she had said she loved him, in front of their family and friends. He could not ask for much more, just that Mary and the baby did okay during the pregnancy. However, he still felt anxious. He was not sure about what, but there was something in the back of his mind that kept nagging at him.

He raised his other hand slightly. He wanted to move the hair out of her face to look at her, but he did not want to wake her up. He let his hand fall back down.

"Just do it," Mary's voice startled him.

"What?"

"Whatever it is that you want to do, just do it. You're getting all tense and it's hard to use you as a pillow that way."

She looked at him and he smiled.

He pulled the hair out of her eyes. "I just wanted to look at you."

"I thought you'd be more creative in the mornings." She stretched her hand over his abdomen and caressed him in wide circles.

His body reacted immediately.

"At least some parts of you are already working," she said and before he could reply she sat up and straddled him.

He smiled widely. She was sitting on his waist, naked, completely confident, all her uneasiness from the night before gone. "I can come up with a few things to do while you're there," he said.

"Well, you'd better come up with something fast, Buster, or I'm running down to get some food. I'm starving."

He sat up without letting her fall and kissed her. "Did I mention you look especially beautiful today?" he said seconds later.

Mary kissed him back. She liked that, that he did not mind telling her nice things all the time, that he did not feel afraid of showing how he felt for her.

"What about going into the shower? I have a few ideas that would apply in there, too, and we'd be ready to eat sooner," he said.

"That sounds good," she said as she disentangled herself from him and started walking toward the restroom. "I think this kid is going to turn me into a giant balloon, but I can't shake the thought of a good filet mignon out of my head… Oh… Shakes, that sounds good, too. Maybe ice-cream… with strawberries… and mashed potatoes, yes, garlicky ones; that sounds even better…"

Marshall looked at her with a grimace. "Strawberries and garlic?"

She smiled and signaled for him to follow her. "Come on, Marshall, let me see what you can do while standing on your two feet… We need to know if we have to start feeding you better, too."

He got up from the bed and followed her with a smile. Oh, he was going to show her… and he definitely did not need to eat more to deal with her. He had just been waiting for a chance and he was not doing to waste this one.

A couple of hours later they were finally having lunch. Mary was really hungry and she was enjoying every second of her meal. Marshall kept talking about the nutritional value of each piece of food she had chosen, but she was determined that he was not going to ruin her appetite.

Now and then she would look up and catch him looking at her as if he were trying to fix the image in his memory. The first two times she had felt tempted to ask what the hell he was looking at ─as she was used to─, but something had stopped her. Earlier in the morning she had felt the same way. She had woken up feeling he was looking at her, unable to touch her, as if she were something precious and delicate that would break with the slightest contact. What was he really afraid of? That she would leave him? That she did not really love him? She had said it in front of everybody. What else did he need her to do? Why did he doubt her feelings?

"Hey, numb nuts, what are you thinking of? You've been quiet for a whole minute," she finally said to him. "You were talking about the daily protein requirements for a child and then you stopped."

He looked at her surprised. "You were paying attention?"

"Of course I was, you dimwit. I always listen to you, even when I know you're just babbling your head off."

"Why do you listen to me if you think I'm babbling?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe somewhere in there I'll find something I care about?"

He smiled. She listened to him. That was good. "Well, I was about to say that the daily protein requirement for a pregnant woman is seventy-one grams a day. If it's a lean meat, with low saturated fat it's even healthier."

"So, you're happy with my menu choice? Do you think I should order another filet mignon, to go maybe? To get to the seventy-one grams, I mean… You're paying, right?"

He nodded with a smile. "You can also order some fish or eggs. I checked the menu and there's nothing with soy beans, but we can go downtown during the week and find that store that has organic food. Soy beans are a complete protein source-"

"Have you lost your freaking mind? Soy beans? When have you ever seen me eat any beans that were not in a good Mexican sauce?"

"Boiled soy beans make a great salad with potatoes and lettuce plus a touch of mayonnaise."

"You _do_ know that pregnant women tend to have nausea, right? You won't complain later when I throw up all over your pretty shirt…"

"Fine. I'll just make the salad one day and you'll change your mind."

She scoffed. "Any time soon."

The rest of the lunch passed quickly. After that, they checked out of the hotel and Marshall drove Mary to her house. They had decided they would spend the week in their own houses as they took care of different aspects of the wedding.

Mary was only in charge of getting herself a wedding dress. On Monday, Marshall convinced her to accept Eleanor's aid because she knew a seamstress who could help her out in the short period of time they had. That same afternoon they visited the lady's store and Mary was surprised when one of the first dresses she looked at seemed to be the perfect one. It was an empire waist dress, made of silk satin, with very delicate embroidery of tiny pearls on the waist and a sash. It hid her pregnancy almost completely and made Mary feel very feminine, a perfect match for her bad-ass lawman.

As she was trying the dress in front of the mirror and the seamstress took measurements, Mary reflected on her new feelings. It surprised her that Marshall brought the need to be feminine in her. It was not that she was not feminine the rest of the time; she always tried to keep a balance between her girlish side and her tough marshal image, but, lately, whenever she was close to him, she felt the need to be just attractive and beautiful.

Marshall _was_ her keeper, she understood that now and she liked it. For the first time in her life, she was enjoying the fact that someone else was willing to take care of her. Since the time when her father had left her, she had always been the caretaker, even as a child. Her mother had dealt with alcoholism and depression for as long as she could remember and her sister had been too young to take care of anything. Even now, Mary was still the _adult_ one of the three and their positive changes owed much to her support. But Marshall did not need to be taken care of and he was willing to do it for her. It allowed her more breathing room, a feeling of freedom she had never felt before. And she was thankful; she just did not know how to show it to him.

During the week, Jinx and Brandi helped her get the perfect shoes and the most beautiful accessories for her wedding gown. A very thin gold chain with a solitaire pearl was her mother's gift. Jinx confessed that it was not extremely valuable, but that it was the first gift her husband had given her and, actually, the only one that was not a fake.

By Thursday night, Mary was shocked when, before going to bed, she admitted to herself that she was extremely nervous and that the idea that anything could go wrong and ruin Marshall's day was nerve-wracking.

Nevertheless, she did not give any thought to the fact that all week long she had called it _Marshall__'s day_ in her mind.

Marshall had no problem going to sleep that night. He was too exhausted to be nervous. He had never imagined that organizing a wedding could take so much time and effort, especially considering that he had had limited time because the week at the office had been extremely tough. Stan had helped as much as it was possible, but one problem after another with the witnesses had kept them all very busy.

Without the assistance of his parents, Raph, Brandy, and Jinx, he would have never made it. Even Bobby D. and Eleanor had helped.

Deciding not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen had helped alleviate the pressure. Stan was chosen to be the Best Man and Brandi the Maid of Honor. Marshall took Stan to the same rental place he would use and they got their tuxedos together. Brandi promised to choose a very elegant and tasteful dress if they let her get the one she liked.

Marshall did not want the wedding to be a source of stress for Mary and Eleanor had made sure that choosing and fixing the gown had been a painless process. He knew he would be forever thankful to her for that.

He had decided that the wedding ─ceremony and reception─ would take place in Mary's house, in her backyard, by the side of the pool. Raph had stealthily worked all week on getting the place ready without arousing Mary's suspicions. Luckily, she had been too busy to notice the subtle changes in her backyard.

Brandi had taken care of the flowers. After spending all Monday morning going from one florist to the next in Albuquerque, she had discovered that they all pretty much carried the same arrangements. After consulting with Marshall, she had chosen a cascading bridal bouquet made with white spray roses and jasmine flowers that had a delightful perfume. Then she had gotten a white rose boutonniere for Marshall and, finally, she had ordered arrangements for the service and the party made with white roses, hydrangea, jasmine, larkspur, and orchids.

Bobby D. had offered to call a friend who was a DJ to take care of the music during the party. Marshall had gladly accepted the offer because it had taken him an average of twenty phone calls and at least all his free time after work on Monday to find a string quartet to play during the ceremony.

His mother had tackled the menu for the reception. Dinah had at first been reluctant to follow her son's wishes and order Kansas City barbecue ribs to be flown from a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, but he had been adamant that his choice was the one that would make Mary happy. Dinah had ordered a few more items from the menu, just in case not all the guests shared Mary and Marshall's fondness for the ribs.

Michael Mann had spent the week making arrangement for the rest of his family to make it to the wedding. It had taken time and money, but, considering that Marshall had been self-sufficient for a long time and had never asked for help before, he thought it was worth the effort.

On Wednesday evening, Marshall had come home after having his last conversation with the priest who would marry them and found his oldest sister, Martha, fixing dinner in his kitchen.

"Hey, Beanstalk!" she had greeted him right before giving him a heartfelt hug. "I can't believe you're getting married… Congratulations! I thought you'd never let any woman catch you," she added with a smile. "I still remember how fast you were running when Lara was after you… and you didn't do much better with Alicia."

"Well, Mary's different."

"So I've heard," Martha said and Marshall immediately worried.

"You'll like her. She's just a little tough on the outside, but-"

Martha grabbed his arm, got closer, and said with a serious tone, "I'm sure I'll like her, Beanstalk. If you fell for her, she must be pretty special."

Marshall smiled. "She is."

"I also heard you're having a baby in May," she squeezed his hand. "That's the best thing that could ever happen to you; I'm serious. Children are the biggest joy you'll ever get."

"I think I'm already starting to understand that… and talking about children and family, did you come alone?"

"No, Robert's in the dining room, setting the table, and the boys will get here tomorrow night. Thomas had some project going on and I think Seth didn't want to leave his girlfriend alone for too long." She smiled. "Can you believe that? I'm only three years older than you and I have two children in college and you're about to have your first baby!"

"Probably the first and the last. I don't think Mary will do this again."

"You never know."

"We'll see."

The next morning he had taken some time off to pick his other sister up at the airport so that his father could help his mother with the reception details.

"Megan!" Marshall called as soon as he saw her. "Edward!" he tried.

His brother in law was closer and heard him. He told his wife and his children and they approached Marshall. After all the routine hugging and congratulating, they got the luggage and got into his SUV.

"So, how are you doing with the wedding jitters?" Megan asked as they were driving to his house.

"No jitters at all. I've known Mary for too long to worry about any surprises."

Megan smiled. He was in love and that was something new. She had seen him infatuated with many girls or women along the years, but she had always noticed that there was something missing. He valued his independence too much and he put his career above all others. It finally seemed that he had found a way to keep both and still get the girl. "Well, mom said that she was the one who proposed… How did that happen?"

He shrugged. "Mary has to do everything in her own terms. She didn't like it when her ex-fiancée proposed… She laughed at me when I talked about having a family with her."

Megan did not like what she was hearing. Perhaps Mary had agreed to marry him just because she was pregnant and that was not a good beginning. "What made her change her mind?" she asked cautiously

"I think meeting Alicia helped a little, but, mostly, I believe it has something to do with mom. They've had something weird going on since I was injured the last time."

"Like what?"

"I don't really know."

"Are you wearing a tuxedo tomorrow, Uncle Marshall?" Julie asked from the back seat.

"Yes, Ma'am, I am," he replied.

"Ha… He called me _Ma'am_," she laughed looking at her older sister.

"He's joking, can't you see?" Rachel said with annoyance as she kept texting her friends.

"Wait until you have more than one," Megan warned Marshall. "You wouldn't think that there's much difference between eight and twelve, but these days it looks like an abyss."

"Martha and you survived your two year chasm... It used to be loud…" He remembered.

"Let's not go there," Megan said with a smile.

Marshall understood. He had a great relationship with his sisters, but they had only become good friends with each other after both had gotten married and started having children.

A few minutes later they were home and the conversation changed as soon as they met the rest of the family.

Later that night, before falling asleep, Marshall reflected on the fact that his wedding had become a community effort. It took a village to marry Mary.

And then he was asleep

On Friday, Mary and Marshall worked only half day. Mary spent the afternoon sitting on a chair while Brandi and Jinx played with her hair.

As they worked, she kept thinking about the step she was about to take. She was not worried or afraid anymore about the idea of committing to a long term relationship. She had gone back to her notes about Marshall and she had realized that she had been in some kind of relationship with him almost from the very beginning. Though she had always found it hard to work with a partner, she had felt at ease with Marshall as soon as she had met him.

It was true that she bantered and bickered with him mostly every day, but her comments were never aimed at hurting him. It was her way of keeping everybody at arm's length, of avoiding being hurt, but it had not worked with him. He had seen through her barriers and he had tunneled his way in. Now, she honestly could not imagine her life without him.

Waking up by his side on Sunday morning had confirmed her suspicions. She liked it. She had enjoyed the few times it had happened before, but this time she had really understood how wonderful it was. He did not expect anything from her. He knew her, he knew her family and her history, he knew what she did for a living, and he did not object to any of that. He even shared her love for the Service. And because of him she was experiencing this whole new adventure of motherhood. She had been almost certain that she would not have children, ever. Now, it scared her to think that she could have voluntarily missed on something so extraordinary. She could not wait for the moment when she would start feeling the baby move inside of her.

When her mother and her sister finally declared her hairdo done, she looked in the mirror and was surprised. It looked fantastic. She had not wanted to wear a long veil or much adornment of any kind, so they had worked with a short veil and a few jasmine flowers. Her hair was wavy and part of it was up in the back of her head while the rest fell in feminine curls. The veil was attached in the back and the small flowers accented the hair in strategic places.

Now she had to get dressed and Raph would take her to wherever the wedding would be. Marshall had kept it all a mystery, but she trusted him. It was going to be alright.

**_A.N. I will check if there was enough interest in the addition and decide if to go ahead with the wedding and _****_Marshall_****_'s present. Thanks for staying until here!_**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 35**

**_A.N. I am having horrible days at home. I had forgotten how hard it is to move to another state. So, this is all I could get to type before going back to packing the house. I will try to do more during the week, but I noticed that there's not as much interest in this part as there was in the first part of the story, so maybe I should be closing it. I hope you enjoy this little piece. _**

On her way to the bedroom, Mary noticed the dining room table where her family had put the wedding gifts. She walked to it, curious about the boxes, and inspected the cards on them. She shook a couple of packages and turned others in her hands, trying to figure out what was inside them. They had agreed with Marshall that they would open them after the wedding and, together, write the thank you notes for them, but she was too curious. She was about to give up and go get dressed, when she saw a box that was not wrapped in gift paper as the others. She grabbed it and opened it. Inside there was a box that filled all the requirements of a wedding gift, with beautiful wrapping paper and a big bow, but there was also a smaller package that was wrapped in blue paper a had the word _Marshall_ written with marker on it. She checked the card attached to the gift and discovered it was from Alicia.

She went to the kitchen, got a pair of scissors and a roll of tape, and came back to the table. She picked up the box and took it to her bedroom. Once there, she carefully opened the gift and, after seeing that it was a bottle of very expensive champagne and a couple of stem glasses, she put everything back together and taped the box as if it had never been opened. Then, she unwrapped the small package.

It was another bottle, this time of fine Scotch whiskey. She was about to put it back, when she noticed a small handwritten note.

"_Because you'll soon need something stronger. Love, Alicia._"

Mary sat on the bed for a while, surprised by the note, upset. What did it mean? Marshall was not the kind of guy who solved his problems with alcohol. Since she had met him, she had only seen him drunk, really drunk, once, a few months before, days after she had admitted being engaged to Raph.

Did Alicia hint that being married to Mary was going to drive him to drink? Or simply that it would be harder than he expected? Was Alicia warning him about marrying Mary? And why was she sending presents at all? She did not remember talking about inviting her. Marshall had only mentioned his family. Alicia was_ not_ part of his family. Was she going to be at the wedding?

All those ideas upset Mary. It did not matter which one was right. She did not like any of the possibilities.

She looked at the big box that had contained both packages. There were no postage marks or any signs that it had been mailed. Someone had brought the box. Had it been Alicia? Was she already there? Was she staying with Marshall?

She tried to stop herself from thinking too much about it. Alicia was married and she seemed happy with her husband.

And Marshall was marrying her…

She put the box back together and took it to the dining room. She had other things to do. She would deal with this later.

Soon after she was done with her shower, Brandi and Jinx joined her in the bedroom to help her getting dressed. It took time and effort to get all the details right, but the result was worth it.

As soon as she was ready, Mary called Raph, who had been waiting in the kitchen, and asked where the ceremony was going to take place.

He smiled as he looked at her mother and sister and said, "Oh, that's a surprise. You need to close your eyes until I tell you."

"Are you insane? I'm not going anywhere with my eyes closed and there's no way in hell you'll blindfold me and ruin the hair."

"I didn't say you had to go anywhere. I just said that you need to close your eyes. I want you to see something before we get to the right place."

"What do you want me to see? I'm not going to be late for my own wedding. Marshall's going to start freaking out."

"Calm down, Mary. It's not far. You just look when I tell you and then I'll take you to Marshall's dad. He's going to give you away, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Close your eyes and trust us. This is a nice surprise."

Meanwhile, Marshall was finishing a short conversation with the priest. They shook hands one more time and Marshall walked back to where Stan was waiting for him.

"Tell me again why you chose a catholic priest…" Stan asked with a smile as he saw that Marshall was distressed after his conversation.

Marshall shook his head. "I didn't choose anything. It was Mary's mom. She said a Shannon only got married in a Catholic church. She even said that she never thought of Mary's first marriage as real because it was only a civil union and not a religious one."

"Well, it's not a bad idea to start the marriage pleasing the mother-in-law. I'm sure she wasn't happy already that her little girl was pregnant."

"No, she wasn't. She was very clear about that, too."

Stan smiled again. "I don't think she gets yet that Mary and only Mary decides what to do with her life. In any case, Mary has gone a long way in the other direction by trusting you with most of the details for this wedding. You should be very proud of yourself. I'm not sure she trusts anyone else with anything."

Marshall smirked. "Wait until she finds out I had to promise the priest we would attend the marriage classes in two weeks. He wouldn't have married us without that."

Stan smiled broadly. "I wish I could be there when you explain that one to Mary." He changed his expression. "Actually, no, I'd better not be anywhere close."

Right then, the music started playing and they saw Mary walking towards them with Michael.

When Marshall looked at her, he could not contain a gasp. She looked stunning. Nobody would have guessed that the bride was a forty year old pregnant U.S. Marshall who had been shot in the stomach and been technically dead for a while a few months before.

Jinx and Brandi also noticed the difference between this Mary and the one they had met when coming to live at her house. They both attributed the change to Marshall's growing influence on her over the last months. Even Raph had to admit that there had been a positive change.

Marshall's sisters exchanged a look. He had not allowed them to meet Mary before the wedding. He wanted them to get to know her _after_ it was all done and that had made them wary of what they would find. Dinah had told them that Mary was a beautiful woman, but when they saw her for the first time, they understood why their brother had chosen her, at least from a purely physical point of view. They would get to know the rest later.

Mary got to Marshall's side and Brandi and Stan took their places. Michael sat by Dinah and Jinx and the ceremony started.


	36. Chapter 36

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 36**

**_A.N. No fluff this time. I was in a very different mood and the characters followed me. Please, let me know what you think._**

While the priest talked, Mary had to do a great effort to concentrate in his words and not turn to look at her backyard. When Raph had walked her out of the kitchen and allowed her to have a first glance at it, she had been shocked. There were flowers everywhere and the whole place looked like a magazine wedding setting. First, she had imagined they would get married at the Courthouse; then, when Marshall had explained that they would have an evening wedding, she had thought that their time frame had obliged him to take whatever was left available. The rehearsal had taken place in her own living room ─because, as he had explained, with such a small wedding party there was no need to go anywhere else─ so she had never had a hint that they were fixing her own patio for the marriage.

Marshall's appearance kept distracting her, too. She knew he would be in formal wear, but the way he looked in his white tie was more than she could have imagined. It would have been alright for her if they just stopped the whole thing and escaped to the house to have some deserved sex. That had been a rough week and Marshall looked like just what she needed to put it all behind. If only they did not have all those people sitting right behind them…

To Marshall's relief, everything went as planned. Mary followed all the instructions she had been given during the rehearsal and smiled with genuine happiness, at least in her mother's eyes. Jinx was thrilled that one of her daughters was finally married. When Mary had reached forty, she had started worrying that she would never settle down and have a family. All that was taken care of now and, if Brandi's relationship with Raph continued as well as it was going, there would be another wedding soon.

After the ceremony, the reception went as well as it could be expected. Mary got to meet the rest of Marshall's family and she tried her best not to appear rude or antagonistic to them. She could see in his eyes that he was afraid that she would not make a good impression on them. He had told her many times during the years they had known each other that she was an _acquired taste_ and it occurred to her that his family would not have enough time to _acquire_ such a _taste_.

When dinner was served, Mary felt extremely happy about the menu choices and enjoyed her ribs as if they were her first. After dinner, there was dancing and Mary and Marshall got a chance to dance with most of their guests. When they finally got reunited on the dancing floor, she giggled as she hugged him.

"Wow. I think I've never danced with as many different people as tonight."

She almost lost her footing and he held her. "Are you okay? How many glasses of champagne have you had?" he asked.

She scoffed. "Of course I'm fine. And none; I've had none. I wouldn't do it. I just can't wait for this whole charade to be over." She looked at him alluringly. "You look remarkably handsome tonight."

Marshall was not smiling. He stopped dancing and looked at her. "What do you mean _charade_?"

She felt impatient. "Charade, show, whatever you want to call it… I just want to be done and go to bed… with you," she said, back to her sensual tone.

He shook his head slightly, grabbed her by the arm, and walked with her to the kitchen. Once they were inside the house, he stood in front of her and asked again, "What do you mean _charade_?"

She was annoyed. "I already told you. This is just a show people put to make others happy. The truth is I could care less-"

"You didn't want to get married?" he asked with genuine surprise.

"Did you ever hear me say that I wanted to get married before all this started? I'm not like all those girls that spend their childhoods dreaming about prince charming and their wedding day. I didn't have time for that. I was too busy keeping my mother from drowning in her own vomit when she was passed out drunk."

"Then why on Earth did you propose to me?" His voice showed that he was hurt, but she missed it.

"That's what you wanted, wasn't it? The same Raph wanted before you… Marriage, kids, the whole enchilada."

"What I wanted was to spend the rest of my life with you," he said softly.

"Well, that's what you're getting and it starts as soon as the show is over."

Her attitude not only hurt him, but upset him deeply. "A wedding is _not_ a show. It's a rite of passage, a ritual to symbolize a profound change in someone's life."

She rolled her eyes. "Jesus, Marshall, spare me the drama. We got married; it's done. What else do you want from me?"

He looked at her as if he were looking at a stranger. "I… don't really want… anything that way," he said slowly. "For me, this was a commitment, a transformation of our relationship."

"What do you mean? We're the same people as before. We'll just keep on going. Nothing has really changed. You don't really believe all that crap about _'till death do us part_, do you? It's just for dreamers; a romantic notion that doesn't apply anymore."

"So it'd have been okay for you if we hadn't done any of this?"

"We're having a kid together; that's a fact. We're great in bed and we're awesome as a team at work. We have everything we need. This _demonstration_ of our _love_" she said with a dismissive gesture of her hand and in a very mocking tone, "isn't really necessary."

"Many people spent a lot of time and effort putting together that _show_ for you," he said pointing at the yard.

"And I'll thank them properly, but don't ask me to-"

"You know what?" he interrupted her. "That's fine. Have it your way."

For a few seconds he looked at her with a look that froze her blood in her veins. She recognized the look as the one he gave to the criminals they often had to deal with right before he put them in their place. It was a look that she had only seen in U.S. Marshal Mann's eyes and she had witnessed many men backing off because of it.

She had no time to react when he grabbed her by the waist and sat her on top of the kitchen counter. She was still shocked when he approached her and gave her one of the most passionate kisses she had ever experienced. She almost fell to the floor when he walked away from her towards the back door of the house.

"You're free," he said. "I won't hold you to a commitment that only has meaning for me. I was wrong; I admit it. I thought this would work, but…" he seemed to have trouble continuing. She was sure he had tears in his eyes. "This whole thing was a mistake, from the very beginning, but something good came out of it. We're having a child together and I'll be there every step of the way for both of you, but we don't need anything beyond that. Come Monday, we're back to being partners as before. I promise I'll have this whole thing annulled by the end of the day. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

She was stunned. She could not say a word.

He opened the back door and held a hand to his forehead as if it was hurting. "Give me a few minutes; I'll… I'll walk down the block for a while and I'll be back to end the _charade_. I just need to calm down a bit. I just…" he looked at her one more time, shook his head, and went out. He carefully closed the door and left a bewildered Mary behind.


	37. Chapter 37

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter ****37**

**_A.N. Still in a weird mood, having trouble leaving all my friends behind, one more time. ------ Only _****_Marshall_****_'s point of view. Please, let me know what you think; I think I might need his mother to tell the secrets to Mary. And he still has not given her the gift._**

For a few minutes he walked down the street at a brisk pace as if afraid that he would cease breathing if he stopped. He was feeling a strong pain in his chest and his head about to explode.

At the end of the block there was a small playground; he walked through it and sat down on one of the swings. He unconsciously put a hand to his chest while he tried to calm his breathing. He loosened the collar of his shirt and took a couple of deep breaths.

He was overreacting and he knew it, but what he had said to Mary had not been a sudden reaction to her choice of words; it had been the result of finding that all his fears were founded in reality and not just his imagination. Now he could see that that was what he had been afraid of all along. He knew he had been pushing Mary, consciously or not, toward what he wanted, a _commitment_. It was not news that she would not be happy with that; she had already been through a divorce and a broken engagement ─that he knew of─ for the same reason. Nevertheless, he had kept nudging until she had relented and he had been so masterful at it that, in everyone else's eyes, it had been Mary who had asked for the definitive vow.

He had to stop being so selfish and setting Mary free was the only way possible. He could not deal with half way solutions; he loved her too much. Either she was completely his or she was completely free. It had been clear to him that the second option would be the one she would favor, so he had said those words that still burned in his mouth.

Goodness… He had to learn not to want her so badly anymore…

A few minutes earlier, right before kissing her, he had still believed she was the only one capable of filling the emptiness he had felt for so many years. Then, it had dawned on him that she would never be able to do that. Her history with her parents had marked her too deeply. She could not give him what he needed because she was damaged and because, even if he would never admit it to her, he was as damaged as she was, perhaps even worse.

There had been other women before her; he had loved before her; he had been happy before her. He just had to relearn the right skills to find someone else.

From the time when he had met Mary, he had been slowly falling for her until there was nowhere else to go. She had granted him a few months ─no, scratch that─ a few days when he had felt she was his and he had been blissful. He would have to hold onto those memories and put all his energy in raising their child and, maybe then, he would be alright.

He was strong. He could do it. Mary still needed a keeper and that was his role. She would eventually find someone to share her life, someone willing to take the little bit she was able to give and think that was enough.

He sighed. He was mad at himself for having dreamt that it was possible to capture the exotic animal. The reason she had a keeper was because she could not be caged. She had to be allowed to roam free, even if she had never been handed the right tools to deal with the world. That was why she needed him and that was why he would stay in the Albuquerque office until the day she did not require him to survive anymore or she found a better keeper to replace him.

How many hours had he spent looking at her from afar, almost certain that she would never be his? Well, he could go back to being at a safe distance. Over time, all the memories of their time together would be stripped of the emotional element they had now and he would be able to recall without hurting.

Not that he had achieved that with other memories of his life… Maybe he was older and wiser now. He had to give himself the benefit of the doubt.

He looked at his watch. He had been out for at least ten minutes. The guests would be starting to get curious. What was he going to do? The idea of standing in the middle of the yard and telling them the truth of what had happened did not seem as appealing as it had when he was still furious. Family and friends had put equal parts of love and caring to make that wedding happen. Maybe he should just go back to the party, complete the farce with the cutting of the cake, and take off with Mary. They still had the reservations he had asked his father to make for the same hotel where they had spent the last weekend. They could talk and plan for the week ahead. He would need to find the right paperwork to get the annulment and they would have to make it look like a compelling case.

Besides, they had to go back to work on Monday. They needed to be in good terms by then.

Over the next weeks, slowly, they would let everyone know that the experiment had failed.

He sighed again and put his hand back on his chest. It still hurt badly.

He stood and started walking towards the house. He would go by the kitchen and try to find Mary to figure out if she had already given the news to anyone.

If only it did not hurt so much…


	38. Chapter 38

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter ****38**

**_A.N. I do not really know where all this section came from. It assaulted me at night with no warning. I hope it is not too hard to endure.------Mary's side, kind of… Please, let me know what you think; the talk is coming. And he still has not given her the gift. Warning for language._**

Back at the house, Mary was still sitting on the kitchen countertop when Dinah came looking for Marshall.

"Where's Marshall? It's almost time to cut the cake and-" She looked at Mary and knew something was wrong.

"He stepped out for a minute. He'll be back soon," Mary tried.

Dinah simply looked at her and Mary felt compelled to tell her the truth, despite the fact that she had never felt that way with her own mother.

"I screwed up," she said softly.

Dinah was somewhat surprised by the expression Mary had chosen, but she immediately understood what was going on. "You two had a fight on your wedding day," she stated without reproach in her tone.

"Not really. I just told Marshall everything he _didn't_ want to hear and he told me everything I _wanted_ to hear. That's mostly how it always works between us. I _hurt_ him and, in retaliation for it, he _heals_ me."

Dinah felt tempted to tell her that that was not what Marshall had said about her, but she chose a different approach. "May I ask what you needed to hear?"

Mary sighed. "I just wanted everything to go back to where it was before."

"Before what?"

"Before we crossed the line. He was my best friend, my only friend, the one person I could come to with all my messed up life and he would listen to me and give me advice so that I could ignore it and then deal with the consequences of making such a mistake…" She smiled sadly. "Pathetic, I know, but somehow I can't give him the satisfaction to always be right."

Dinah smiled, too. "And he's not your friend anymore?"

"If he _is_ my family, if he's _so close_ to me, he's almost part of the problem and I don't have where to go." She paused and looked at Dinah. "I could find someone else to be with me, but I won't find another friend like Marshall."

Dinah sighed and helped Mary get down from the countertop. "Sit down here for a minute. Then we need to get out there and give a good excuse for Marshall's disappearance." She signaled a chair for Mary to sit and sat facing her. "Let me see if I got this right. You were afraid of losing your friend and confidant, so you wanted everything to go back to the way it was before, and Marshall agreed. You're going to be friends, partners… Nothing else. Is that it?"

"He didn't agree to it. He decided it himself. He didn't ask if that was what I wanted; he just assumed."

"But he was right…"

"Yes."

"So what's next? Are you getting a divorce?"

"An annulment."

Dinah kept her understanding tone. "Even with the baby on the way, right?"

Mary nodded.

"Then, you're feeling more peaceful now."

She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears.

"Why not?"

Mary had a hard time answering. "I hurt him. I told him this marriage was a charade because he had to know that I don't believe in long term commitments… I usually do that; I hurt the people who love me. I hurt Raph when he proposed to me, too. It's my own way of sabotaging my life, or so I've been told," she finished with a smirk.

Dinah could imagine what effect that had had on Marshall. "Did you tell him that because you believe it or because you wanted him to be mad at you and break the marriage?"

"Both?"

Dinah heard the doubt in Mary's answer. Maybe there was hope for them. "And you _really_ think that you're incapable of committing to a relationship with him… because you think he'll fail you along the way?" she probed.

Mary shook her head again. "No, he won't. Not him. _I_'ll fail him. I already have. And when he really understands this, he's going to have to leave me."

"So, just in case, make him leave now and save some time," Dinah said with a light measure of sarcasm.

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I can't tell him the truth. I can't show him how vulnerable I feel; not anymore. Before, I did it all the time and he was always there to hold me when I cried, but now…"

"Now?"

Mary closed her eyes to avoid more tears and shook her head one more time. "He's the reason I'm vulnerable. I'm terrified of losing him. I can't allow myself to get used to having him… You don't understand. _I _don't understand. I had promised myself not to get too attached to anyone; I wouldn't let anyone destroy me the way my father destroyed my mother. So I don't understand… How could I? How could I fall for him so badly?"

Dinah realized she had gotten to the core of the problem, but right then they heard someone outside. It had to be Marshall.

"We have to keep talking. Just get him to do the cake and then we'll figure something out." She got out of the kitchen before he came in.

Marshall opened the door and found Mary sitting by the table. She did not look alright.

He took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" he asked as he approached her.

She nodded and sighed. "They're looking for us. They want to cut the cake… Are you going to tell them?"

He shook his head. "No. We'd better keep it to ourselves for tonight. Let's not ruin their night, too."

She felt relieved. She stood and faced him. "Let me fix your collar," she said as she did so.

He allowed her to work on his clothing without a word.

"There. Perfect, as before."

"Thanks. Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

He grabbed her hand and walked with her to the door. He took one more deep breath and smiled weakly. "Okay, here we go."

Half an hour later they were done with al the traditions of a wedding reception and they were free to start their two day honeymoon. Dinah made sure she got a word with Mary when Marshall was not watching them and they agreed on what to do.

After saying good-bye to their family and friends, the new couple walked back to the kitchen to talk.

"My dad made reservations at the hotel from last week. We can go there and talk about how to fix this before going to work on Monday," Marshall suggested.

"No… we can't," Mary said with a smile. "Stan gave us a whole week for the honeymoon. I wasn't supposed to tell you before, so I made some plans with your dad when he called about the room."

"What plans?"

"We're going on a little road trip, to Santa Ana Pueblo. We found a great place for a honeymoon and your dad got us to spend the week there. Even with everything that's happened, I think we should take it. We both need the vacation and-"

"Okay."

She was surprised. She thought she would have to fight a lot more to get him to go. "Well, your dad is going to take you to your house to pack what you'll need for the week and I'll change here. I'll be ready when you come back and I'll drive. I promised your mom, because I'm the designated driver in this party," she smiled, hopeful that he would not be as mad with her as he should.

He had no time to answer, for his father came into the kitchen with a broad smile. "So, she told you about my little present?"

Marshall nodded trying to look happy. "Thanks, dad."

"Let's go then. You'll need a lot more than that small bag you have in your car."

Marshall was ready to complain, but he decided it was not worth it. He nodded again and followed his dad.

"You don't say good-bye to your bride?" his father asked with a slightly worried tone. He was used to reading people and he knew something was not right, but he did not want to ask.

Marshall turned and was about to give Mary a small kiss on her forehead, when he changed his mind and gave her a heartfelt hug. "I'll be back soon."

As soon as he was gone, Dinah entered the kitchen.

"Let's go to your room. I'll help you with that dress. Your mother and your sister wanted to come help, but I told them I wanted to give you a little advice about Marshall."

Mary nodded and they went to her bedroom. While Mary was getting out of her wedding dress, Dinah started the conversation.

"You said you had fallen for him, right?"

Mary admitted it.

"Then, I'm going to beg you that you don't let him do what he thinks it's the right thing again."

"What do you mean?"

Dinah sat on the edge of the bed. "Marshall has told me about your family, especially what happened with your father ─I hope that's alright─" Mary nodded, "so I think it's fair that I tell you about him."

Mary got into a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater and sat by her side.

"When Marshall was fifteen or sixteen years old, he fell in love with one of his classmates. We thought it was just a teenage crush and we didn't pay much attention. We had two daughters in college and that was much more worrisome."

Mary thought about his age and something came to her mind. She made an effort to remember. "Kat… No, Katinka, right? The foreign exchange student from Iceland?"

Dinah was very surprised. "He talked to you about her?"

"No, he just mentioned that she was-" she stopped. "He mentioned her once. I don't know anything else."

"Okay… Well, he took it very seriously and I think she did, too. Before the end of the school year, they came one afternoon to our house and they told us they had decided to get married. Marshall had even found a way to finish high school in Iceland and, then, they would come back to the States and go to college here. We were dumbfounded. He'd always had a strong personality, but that was…"

Mary was stunned. "They didn't get married, did they?"

"We opposed the idea from the beginning, but ─you know Marshall─ he knows how to win an argument."

Mary agreed with a clear gesture.

"We finally allowed him to move to Iceland, but we asked him to graduate from high school before he would again ask for permission to marry. In Iceland the age of consent for marriage without authorization of the parents is eighteen, just as in most of our states, therefore we weren't worried. So, he moved to Europe, he lived in a boarding house for a year, and he graduated valedictorian. He learned many languages ─Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, at least─ and he managed to administer the money we sent him very wisely… We had no reproach to make, so we had to agree. He had kept his end of the deal."

Mary could imagine a young Marshall bent on achieving his goal. She knew how stubborn he could get when he was sure of his objective.

Dinah continued. "They planned the wedding with her family and we just flew there a week before the ceremony. He was so… _enthusiastic_ about it; he seemed so happy and-" she paused and it looked as if she were remembering those times. She sighed. "Okay. The night before the wedding there were separate celebrations for the groom and the bride, but when Marshall went back to his room, Katinka was waiting for him. She confessed that she'd been worried about committing to a monogamous sexual relationship with him without having ever experimented with other men, so she'd_ tried_ it with some of their mutual friends."

"Witch!" Mary exclaimed, though she had actually thought of another word.

"She was sixteen; there's not much wisdom you can expect at that age."

"Why did she tell him the truth?"

"She'd decided that he was better than the other guys, so she wanted to be sure that he wouldn't leave her if he found out from his friends. She wanted to prevent a _scene_, I think she told him. I still don't know how he was capable of sitting at our table the next morning and calmly explain this to us."

"Did he send her flying to hell?" Mary asked.

"No, he agreed to still marry her because he'd given his word to her family. He felt responsible somehow. And he'd have done it if Michael hadn't intervened and talked to her parents. They called off the wedding themselves. Magnús, her father, apologized many times, but Marshall never said a word. He kept quiet, looking at her whenever he thought we weren't aware of what he was doing. He refused to talk about it again; he came back, went to college, and you probably know the rest. He's had many girlfriends over the years and more than once I've thought he loved one of them, but, whenever any relationship started getting serious, he began retreating as if an invisible enemy were advancing towards him. I thought he'd never get there. We all thought so. This marriage to you has been quite a surprise for our family."

"And you want me to avoid the annulment, right?"

"I'm just afraid of what it could do to him. It must have taken so much for him to get here… Maybe he'll be fine; I just don't know, but, as his mother, I don't want to find out. If you love him at all, please, give him and give yourself a chance. Wait a few months, see how it works. You have the power to terminate it whenever you want; I'm just asking for a small opportunity for the marriage to work. I think you'll be surprised. If I'm wrong and either one of you is not ready for this, we'll support your decisions all the way."

Mary looked down. "I'll think about it. I don't want to hurt him more than I already have; it's just that I'm not sure that I can be good for him."

"He chose you. You're very different that all the other women who have been in his life. There must be a reason."

Mary smiled. "I promise I'll try."

A few minutes later, Marshall and his father were back. Mary occupied Michael's place behind the wheel of the SUV and soon they were on Route 66 on their way to I-25.

Marshall remained quiet and Mary could read the sadness in his face, but she took advantage of the silence to think. She had a tough decision ahead. Would she dare let Marshall be such an important part of her life or would her fears win? She was not sure.


	39. Chapter 39

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter ****3****9**

**_A.N. Almost done, but it could be done right here. I really need feedback to decide how far to take it. My mind seems not willing to end this story, but it is getting too long. I will see what the general opinion is and decide. Maybe one more step to deal with that gift..._**

Less than an hour later they were at the resort. Their room was spacious and looked comfortable. Marshall put their bags down and looked at the king size bed in the center of the room.

Mary noticed and shrugged her shoulders. "We're two adults, right? Besides, we've spent many nights in the same room before. Just choose a side."

Somehow that was not what he wanted to hear, but it was more or less what he expected.

While Mary was hanging some of her clothes, he took a quick shower and got into his pajamas with little planes and a T-shirt.

Mary got her shower next, so he got in bed and turned on the TV.

"Are you watching TV?" Mary asked with surprise when she came out of the bathroom.

Marshall shrugged without taking his eyes of the screen. "I'm not really sleepy… I'll turn it off if it bothers you."

"No, that's fine." She sat on the edge of the bed and dried her hair with a small towel. When it felt dry enough, she took the towel back to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. A couple of minutes later, she was in bed by Marshall's side.

For around ten minutes they watched the news in silence. Then, Mary sighed loudly.

"What? He asked, still watching TV.

"Nothing. I'm hungry; that's all," she complained like a little child.

"You did eat cake before we left; I saw you…"

She scoffed, "That was like hours ago."

He smiled. "I have some snacks in my bag."

"I knew it! You always carry food in your bag. What do you have?"

"Some cookies, chips, and I think I threw a bar of chocolate in there. I'll get them for you."

"No! Don't worry. I can take care of it," Mary said as she almost jumped out of the bed.

She walked in front of the TV to get to his bag on the other side of the bed and, for the first time since she had come out of the bathroom, he looked at her. She was wearing a long white robe on top of a light nightgown that seemed to be adorned with lace and small pearls. It was so out of character for Mary to be wearing such a garment ─or at least he had never seen her wearing such a feminine thing─ that he had to ask.

"What's with the girlish fashion?"

She rolled her eyes. "Mom's present. She helped me pack. I told her to put my pajamas from the top drawer, but it looks like she only put things like these. She discovered this week that I really didn't have anything nice and she took care of what she considered a problem. You know how she's been all motherly now that she's sober. I even think that she befriended your mother."

Marshall smiled. "It looks nice," he said in a kind but not flirtatious tone and Mary felt a little disappointed.

He was back to watching TV so she got the chocolate out of the bag and got back in bed. While she ate, she discovered that now and then Marshall looked at her, for a few seconds, and then went back to watching TV.

"You're looking at me with those eyes," she said after a while.

He seemed surprised. "What eyes?"

"You know. When there's something big going on, you have _two_ special ways to look at me."

"What ways?" he asked with curiosity.

"Sometimes you look me in the eyes, with wide bright eyes, as if you were expecting something from me…"

_Maybe expecting you realized how much I loved you_, Marshall thought, but kept quiet.

"That's how you looked at me when I told you I was engaged to Raph, or during that toast… Or when I was proposing to you. Even tonight, when we were with the priest." She immediately regretted having mentioned the wedding.

He shrugged. "I don't know, Mar. It's not conscious."

"Maybe you're trying to figure out some deep truth I don't want to reveal," she continued, looking at him carefully, trying to check his reactions.

"What?" He looked confused. He shook his head. "Okay… What's the other way?"

"The longing one, kind of sideways, always when I'm not paying attention."

"So how do you know I'm looking at you then?"

"I know. I can feel it. Sometimes I catch you _in flagrante delicto_."

"Now you're speaking in Latin. I'm seriously starting to doubt you're the real Mary Shannon."

"You're not changing the subject, doofus," she said while she hit him softly with a pillow. "You were looking at me with those eyes a minute ago."

"The expecting or the longing?"

"The longing ones."

He looked down. "I'm sorry," he said with a shrug. "I don't do it on purpose."

"You looked at me that way when we were stuck with Horst in that freaking place."

He sighed. "Most of that day is blurry, especially after I was shot."

She did not believe him. They had talked about many details of that day since then. That meant he did not want to talk about something in particular from hat day.

She suddenly realized he was watching TV again.

This was a really crappy weeding night. Her new husband did not even want to talk to her. Though, he might be still a little bit mad at her… Maybe he was right to treat her that way.

She ate the rest of the chocolate. "So, are we making love or not?" she asked suddenly.

He sighed and turned off the TV. She was not going to let him watch in peace.

"Mar, I don't think that having sex tonight would help our annulment case. Besides, I don't feel like doing it with you at all. You're the one who said this was just a charade. If it's not a real marriage, there shouldn't be real sex either."

He lay down and turned to the other side.

She was stunned. She never thought he would reject her. He was in love with her.

So, if she got her friend back, she lost the lover. That was bad. She did not want a husband, but he was the best she had ever shared a bed with and that was a lot to say.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

"Not now. I want to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."

Goodness. She was back with Raph, one minute after getting engaged. Now she had to press the issue a bit more and they would start a fight.

"I can't sleep."

"That doesn't mean you have to keep _me_ from doing it. Any adult still requires an average of seven to eight hours of daily sleep."

She rolled her eyes. Even on their wedding night… That was a good point. "It's our wedding night."

"No if there's no wedding."

"But _there was_ a wedding… there won't be a _marriage_, but that's different."

"_Charades_ don't count."

He was still looking the other way. She was losing the battle and the more he said no, the more she wanted him. "Come on; it's late already. There's not much left of the wedding night."

Marshall sat up swiftly and Mary knew he was starting to get angry. "This isn't a game, Mar. you can't choose and pick what you keep and what you dump. You said you didn't want to be married, so I'm giving you that. Let it go while you're winning."

"I'm not winning anything. You don't get it."

"_What_ I don't get?" he asked indignant. "Do you know what _I_ feel? I feel like getting out of here and not seeing you again. There are only two reasons why I don't get the hell out of here, I want to see my child grow up and I gave you my word I wouldn't leave you."

"You don't have to keep your word for me; I'm not Katinka," she said, angry herself.

He looked stunned. "You talked to her?"

She realized what he was thinking and what a mistake it had been to mention her name. "Just forget about that. Why don't you tell me why Alicia had to send you whiskey so that you could deal with me?" she asked to change the subject.

"How do you know what she sent me?" he asked even angrier.

"I opened the package, so what?"

"It was addressed to me!"

"It was on my dining room table!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Stop procrastinating, you dimwit, and answer my question. What did you tell her about me?"

He looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "It was a joke! She said that the baby wouldn't let us sleep one whole night ever again. The whiskey was for both of us, to deal with the constant crying and the colic and-" he got up and walked to the window to cool off. He was furious. He looked down and tried to think of something that would calm him down.

Mary felt all the fury dissipate. She just felt sad. She was alienating the person she cared for the most in the world, besides her child. She started crying softly.

Marshall realized she was crying immediately. The anger left him. He walked back to the bed, sat by her side and hugged her.

"What are we doing, Mar?"

Mary leaned against his chest and realized how peaceful she felt in there. She wished it could be like that forever.

Suddenly, everything became clear. He had offered her that and much more and she had been too blind to accept it. "I don't want an annulment. I want to be married to you."

"Why?" he asked tiredly.

She raised her head to look at his eyes. "I have to say it, eh? You won't let it pass? You _know_ why."

"Why, Mar? Why would you want to be married to me?"

She put her head against his chest again. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me. I'll always be your friend. You don't need to be married to me for that; you know it."

"I meant every word I said in front of the priest."

That declaration amazed him. He softly pushed her away from him to look at her eye to eye. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, it's true. I meant it. I wanted to marry you. I'm just so scared that it'll be like with Raph. What if we start fighting for everything?"

"Mar, we already fight for everything. You wouldn't notice the difference."

She smiled. "You're my best friend, my only friend. I can't lose you, not even for the awesome lover you are."

He smiled, too. That was a nice compliment. "Now Raph is your friend, too. Hey, he's even _my_ friend. But nothing's really changed because we got married. We haven't even decided if we're going to live in the same house."

"I like my house; it took so many years to be able to afford the mortgage alone, but yours is like my refuge from the world."

"Maybe we can move your mom and Brandi to my house and that way we'd have your house for ourselves."

Mary hugged him again. That sounded perfect.

"I suppose I can tell you now," he added. "Raph, Brandi, and Jinx are going to get your house fixed while we're gone. I thought we'd be back in the middle of the fixing and lend a hand, but if we stay here for a week…"

Mary almost got mad about the house being fixed without the help of the FBI, but then she realized that the baby would not be safe in that place as it was. "Who's paying for it?"

"We all chipped in, even Stan and Eleanor. They will also help with the actual work. Eleanor says she's great at painting and Bobby O. says he's very good working with wood because his dad was a carpenter."

Mary was surprised. "When did you organize all this? Is that your gift?"

"No. it isn't. Let's leave that for tomorrow."

"Why?"

"It's complicated."

She was about to protest, but she did not want to upset him, so she let it go. "Can we make love now or you still don't feel like doing it?" she tried.

"I always feel like loving you," he replied and she felt his heart beating a bit faster.

"I'm sorry that I'm so hard to live with," she said almost as a confession.

"We're both difficult. Maybe that's why we do what we do. We understand people who have to deal with hard circumstances."

She looked at him and caressed his face very gently. "I've never really told you how much I love you, have I?"

For a few seconds he seemed surprised. Then he softly shook his head.

"This baby and you, the two loves of my life. It's not easy for me to say these things, so remember this; I don't know when it'll happen again. I love you, Marshall Mann, and I'll be with you for the rest of my life, unless you kick me to the curve before that."

He laughed a little. "I love you, Mary Shannon, and, at this time I'm not thinking of kicking you anywhere, but let's not talk about this evening…"

"Deal… Make up sex?"

"You've got a deal."


	40. Chapter 40

**Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter ****40**

Mary smiled at Marshall and leaned to kiss him, but she felt there was something that was not settled between them. "What?" she asked.

"I didn't say anything," he replied, but his tone was not convincing.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him, trying to figure out what could be wrong.

Marshall sighed.

"You have to tell me, Marshall. You know I'm not good at guessing these things."

He shook his head, but she kept looking at him with the question in her eyes. "Look, Mar. You have to understand…First, I thought you'd never want to marry me, then you proposed, then you said the marriage was a charade, and now you say you meant every word… I believe I have the right to be wary."

"Wary? Of me?" she countered with incipient anger.

"Not exactly of _you_, but you have to admit that you're not even sure yourself of what your feelings are about this… About me," he added and she noticed the last words came almost with a wince. Before she could say anything, he continued. "I get that your hormones are wreaking havoc in your emotions, but, wouldn't it be better if you take your time to think about it?"

"I thought you just said you wanted to make love to me," she said with hurt in her voice.

He ran his hand over his hair and look at her resignedly. "Okay; if this is about the sex, if what you want is to have sex tonight, fine. Let's get it over with. We can talk another day."

"_Let's get it over with?_ Are you freaking kidding me? What am I? One of your assignments, something you have to take care of?"

"Mar… That's not what I meant. You don't seem to be in the mood to discuss your feelings-"

"Well, now I'm not in the mood for anything," she said angrily and lay down in bed with her back to him.

He took a deep, noisy breath, and slid into bed, too. He turned off his nightlight and the room became completely dark.

She sat up immediately. "That's it? You're not even going to try?"

He did not move when he answered. "Try what?"

"I thought you were the bright one here."

"What do you want from me, Mar?"

"What do _you_ want from me?"

"I know perfectly well what I want from you?"

"So, tell me," she urged him.

_That you love me, that's all_, he thought, but he did not say it. "I want you to be sure about what you want, for yourself, from me, from our relationship, for the baby… I just want you to be sure." He turned on the light and sat back up. He looked at her eyes and asked, "Do you remember how you felt when your father left?" Mary nodded and her eyes filled with tears against her wishes. "Well, in a way, every time you change your mind I feel that way, like being deserted, abandoned in the middle of a highway without a clear explanation of why-"

"You can't compare-"

"I can't, Mar? Are you sure? Because it sure feels that way from here. You made me promise I wouldn't leave you and I've kept my word… and I don't intend to leave you; I'll be there whenever you need me, but you have to decide what role you want me to play in your life and stick to it. You want to be with me; then you don't. You love me; you don't. You want to marry me; you don't. You want us to be just friends; you want us to be lovers. Which is it? I'm not a toy you can have fun with for a while and then leave behind without a second thought, but you keep tossing me aside… There must be something seriously wrong about me that's stopping you from feeling like you can commit to a relationship with me and not back off ten minutes later." He saw that she wanted to say something and he stopped her. "Just think about it. Your father packed his bags and got out of your life without a reason you could understand and never came back; that's what you've been doing since this all started except you keep coming back only to find a reason to leave me again… and I haven't understood any of those reasons yet."

Mary felt a mix of pain and guilt she had never experienced before. In no way she had ever stopped to think how Marshall would feel about her decisions. They had felt like the right choice at the time, therefore he had to have understood them and agreed with her. Now he was telling her that she had hurt him. That was the last thing she had wanted to do. She looked at him for a few seconds trying to put her emotions under control and her ideas in order.

"I'm not leaving you again; I'm here to stay," she said resolutely. Nevertheless, she saw the doubt in his eyes. "I understand I've failed you before, but I'm completely certain now."

"Okay," he said still warily. "Just tell me what you want us to be, where we're going from here."

"I won't lie to you, Marshall; I'm scared to death, but I want to have a family with you. There's nothing wrong with you; all this time it's always been my fears and my misgivings about relationships in general that have kept us apart. If there is _one_ person in this whole world that I could trust with my life ─that I trust with my life─ that person is you… and I'm willing to trust you with my feelings. You haven't failed me yet and I don't expect you to; I just need you to be aware that I may hurt you again, but I promise I'll try my best not to."

Marshall tried a little smile. He believed her; in spite of everything he believed her. He stretched his arm and pulled her towards him. She laid her head on his chest and they hugged silently for a few minutes.

After a while, Mary said, "You know Brandi once told me that you and I acted already as if we had been married forever. There was only one thing missing…"

Marshall smiled. She _had_ to go back to the sex. That was his girl.

He softly moved away from her to be able to look at her. He smiled again and he leaned to kiss her.

They made love leisurely, constantly aware of Mary's pregnancy, but taking advantage of the new challenges it implied. Marshall felt, for the first time, that they had a chance, that they could make it together. Mary felt, for the first time, that she was safe in Marshall's arms. That she could stay there and not worry about her past, her present, or her future. Whatever came would be alright if he was by her side; whatever had happened before seemed to lose importance compared with the happiness she felt right then.

The next morning they ordered breakfast in the room and they stayed in bed watching movies and simply resting after the hard days they had had in the weeks before.

When they were done with the food, Marshall put the dishes back on the tray. Then he took a large manila envelope from his luggage and handed it to Mary.

"What? What's this?"

"It's my wedding present, Mar. I don't know if you'll like it, but I thought I owed it to you to try this and I succeeded."

"What? Come on, tell me," she said as she started to open the envelope.

"I found your father."

**_A.N. Now I have to finish this, right? I could not resist the temptation… Please, let me know what you think._**


	41. Chapter 41

******Hidden from Sight** by Betty Bokor**  
**Mary/Marshall. Mary wakes up after the shooting and everything starts to change.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**_A.N. _**_This is one of the stories I lost completely when I last moved, but, thanks to the miracle of backup, I got a chance to download it and I wrote a little epilogue for it, telling about them ten years after, as I had before I lost it. I am sure this is not what I wrote then, but it works for me now and I wanted to have it there before the series ends tonight. I hope neither disappoints…_

_I will try to do the same with the other story I have for them. Thanks for staying all the way!_

**Hidden from Sight**

**Chapter 41**

As she drove toward the school, Mary tried to figure out how she would deal with the principal. The truth was that she was very proud of her son for having stopped a bully. What was going to be hard to explain was why said son had the knowledge –the expertise– to subdue a bigger student who was already known to be violent and who had been at the time beating up someone else. The principal knew both his parents were U.S. marshals, but it was still going to be a difficult conversation. Especially since she particularly liked the fact that the bully had ended up face down on the floor, with an arm twisted behind his back and with one of her son's knees holding him down… _Way to go, kiddo…_

If she thought about it, her whole family was difficult to explain. Her ten year old son –the one she was coming to bail out– was a skinny but extraordinarily tall kid who had won every spelling bee, geo-bee, or any other bee flying around at his grade level. And he would have beaten any of the older kids, too, because he was bright and resourceful. But she had no hope that he would ever add much more flesh to those bones. Between Marshall's and her father's genes, he had no chance.

Oh, her father. That had been hard to explain, too. That had been a real can of worms, like opening Pandora's Box –Pandora's _jar_ actually– and the consequences affected her until that very day, but it had been worth it to have closure about it.

"Pandora's_ jar?_" She suddenly thought. Wow… She had been married to the doofus for too long. She should have never been able to make such distinction. It was just not right.

She smiled. The day she had met Marshall she would have bet her life on not _ever_ being even attracted to him. Much less marrying him and having three kids with him. And _three_ just because she had started too old –over forty– to have kids and she had almost not made it during the last pregnancy. They would have many more if it were possible. They were all great kids.

Her seven year old was different than the eldest. It looked like he was going to be tall, too, but there was nothing scrawny about him. And he had no patience with- _Truthfully,_ he had no patience with much. She saw herself on him and some days she felt proud and some days she worried to death.

Now, her little girl was just precious. Five years old and Jinx's favorite student at the dance school. Delicate and charming, she could spew encyclopedia facts like the best. Like her dad… She would never tell Marshall, but she loved it.

She loved all three of her kids and she loved him, but it still surprised her every day the depth of feelings he inspired on her. She trusted him with her life –she _had_ for the longest time– but it went far beyond that. He had proven to her that not everybody leaves. He had proven that it was okay to invest feelings on someone, that there were people who could be trusted, that there were men who did not cheat, betray, or abandon. She was happy that he was in charge of a WitSec office now, because there was less danger in his everyday activities. It was still dangerous, but a little less, and that was good, because the thought of losing him was one of the scariest she could have.

She was also happy about still being a marshal and working by his side. What she had never expected was to also enjoy training new agents for the program. She was good at it and she was more patient that she ever dreamt herself capable of being. Or she had changed, because of Marshall and the children, _just a little bit_, like he cautiously liked to say.

In any case, she thought as she parked the car in front of the school, her son had done nothing wrong. She would take care of the problem and go back to her happy life. Because she _was_ happy. _They _were happy and, though most her and Marshall's professional life was spent hidden from sight, her amazing family life was out in the open.


End file.
